Entwined and Faithful
by CornuCopiaSGR
Summary: [ 89. Beat and Bang! ] - Collection of Judy and Nick platonic relationship short stories, served for your daily dose of fluff.
1. Quarrel

A/N : Good day everyone! I'm particularly new in the fandom ( just recently come 4 days or less ), so please pardon me for the lack of background and description in the story. And for further note, _expect no romance here._

* * *

Judy was alone at her cubicle, working at her paperwork though it was break time. At the moment, she normally would just go anywhere with Nick to fill their stomach or simply fool around, but now it wasn't one of the time.

Both Chief Bogo and Clawhauser noticed from the start of the day. The usual bright bunny wasn't present when she stepped in the ZPD office, so they figured out something was wrong. Another quarrel, or anything like it. And neither actually took any actions because they knew well somehow the duo partners would work their way out.

Nick was actually trying to sort it out. Being the one who seemed to be the guilty one, he pressed the door with his knee ; both of his hands were occupied. There, he saw his partner relentlessly working on her desk. Judy _never_ loved paperwork, so he did appreciate the play she was currently doing.

He walked toward her, tapping his feet heavily on the ground. Surely the big bunny ears' wouldn't miss that, but she still didn't budge.

The fox stayed behind her, his shadow looming over.

"You still mad?" Nick finally questioned. He brought two cup of coffee, one was steaming while the another wasn't.

" _Mad_ is not the word, Nick." Judy responded with huff, while shooing him away with her paw. The red fox rolled his eyes at this.

"Okay," Nick spun, leaving her cubicle. Judy hear the door shut, and she sighed. After a moment, the door opened and Nick went back.

It seemed like they had a non-verbal reset button.

"You still don't want to see me?" Nick asked again, although a different question. He put one of the cup on her table, silently nudging it with the back of his paw toward her.

"Dumb fox, twice in a row," Judy scoffed, but she took the cup from him anyway. It appeared to be ice coffee, though both of them usually ordered not the iced one.

She assumed he was trying to implicitly say _chill yourself, rabbit_.

Oh, how she liked her partner.

"You know well I'm always fond to see you," the fox couldn't help but smirk at her words. Judy tapped her fingers, trying to come up with something that wouldn't entirely satisfy her partner. "Although not in every case."

"That sounds corny." Nick pointed out.

"More like _carroty_." they both shook their head at her poor attempt of pun.

"So…" the fox began again. He held his paw up, surveying his claws. "Anything to make you better?"

"Leave," Judy replied. Nick's smirk dropped and he spun his wheel when he feel a tug on his belt.

"Jokes you jerk," Judy couldn't hide small smile.

"I was starting to doubt who is the real jerk here," Nick calmly replied. He dragged a chair and sat next to her, looking at her eyes. "But seriously. The blame is on me?"

"No," the bunny answered offhandedly, waving her paw at him. Before he could make a remark, she pointed what appeared to be her index finger at the fox. "Now you stop asking or I'll kick you right in the face."

"Ouch," Nick winced, his arms crossed in attempt of defense. "So you do have suggestion." he let his usual grin crept on his face.

"Dinner with me? My treat." Judy proposed. At this point, Nick rubbed the bridge of his snout.

"I presume you feign the act to get me to a date?"

"Not precisely true," now that they seemed to have a deal, Judy let her giggle out. "But it won't harm thinking that way."

"Fine then," Nick agreed. After all, he couldn't say no otherwise he wouldn't want to think what his partner would attempt further.

They stayed in silence, looking at their cup of coffee. Then Nick broke it.

"I'll be careful with my damn snout next time."

"I bet you will." Judy grinned, and for the first time of the day, they laughed together.

"Sly bunny," Nick quoted.

"You know I can't stay mad at you for a day," Judy lightly punched at his side, eliciting a feigned flinch.

"Who can?" the fox put up his charming smile, winking at her.

"Nick!"


	2. Rubber Duck

A/N : Thanks for the support! I'm trying to work with more constructed story, which I've never been good at. Anyway, please enjoy!

* * *

Nick wouldn't miss it everytime Judy smiled. They regular daily basis consisted of making fool each other, soft-tackling, trading remarks, sarcasm competition, and many more. It was hard not to notice his partner's constant change of emotion.

But this time, it felt _wrong_.

That being said, the bright-mood bunny was smiling _too much_ today. He wondered if it had something to do with tomorrow's day off, or something else.

He accompanied the rabbit to her apartment before he himself proceeded to the subway. It was one way around, but they enjoyed each other company to the point that Judy missed to point out that he would need to walk twice farther.

Or maybe it got something with her antics today? He unconsciously sighed on his feeble attempt to figure it out.

Once they got to the Pangolin Arms, Judy looked back at him, her knuckles on hips.

"Nick." she beamed, grinning at the confused fox. "Come with me, c'mon!"

 _Oh here we go,_ Nick almost rolled his eyes.

Before the fox could interject, she took his arms and ran to the back of her apartment. Nick gave a weak yelp as he was dragged along the way. He almost tripped when they suddenly stopped. Judy let loose her grip on his arm as she turned to him, still with that mischievous grin.

He never noticed that the backyard of her apartment was this nice. It wasn't vast, but the distance between the back of the building and the wall provided decent spot even for a picnic. It maintained the natural grassy ground, and there was a massive tree in which its branches gave the coverage from the bright sun.

There were also permanent stone tables, unmovable along with the chairs, which were just a block of stone being cemented to the height of the table. There were only 3 sets of them though, and each covered the general size level of mammals.

Scanning the surrounding, his attention went back to his partner, who seemed to be even more blithe. Even when the shadow of her apartment covered them in the dark, his sight approved that the rabbit was excited.

"You're not pulling a trick from your sleeve right, Carrots?" Nick asked as he dusted his uniform.

"Nope!" she cheerfully responded. "I'm pulling this." from her pocket, she produced a box clad in pure black. It wouldn't need a clever wit to figure out it was a jewelry box.

"Good God…" Nick trailed off. The fox seemed to lost somewhere else, as his eyes went blank. "C-Carrots, I- it's not what I think, right?" he flustered after contemplating for a moment.

"I don't know what you're thinking, Nick," Judy rolled her eyes at her partner, although a hint of delight lingered still on her violet eyes. "Well, free to guess. Open it, please."

The dare was clear in her voice, and Nick came to realize that apparently she was toying him. Laughing at himself, he approached the box as there were two instances he missed out ; first, the box was a bit larger than it usually was, and the second, Judy was not kneeling down.

"You got me there," Nick admitted in defeat. He clicked the box open and found him bewildered at the stuff inside.

A rubber duck.

"Rubber duck? Really, Fluff?" he took a moment to examine the toy, as if expecting another surprise like it would suddenly jump and scare the living out of him.

"It's not fluffy," the bunny pointed out. "But I'm sure you'll like it."

Upon her finished statement, Nick reached out at the rubber duck. Carefully, he brought it for a closer look. The smell of rubber was fresh, so he knew this one was clearly just brought. He looked across the toy to Judy, who was watching him like she was expecting something else. The fox narrowed his eyes, and unconsciously putting more pressure to the toy.

 _Squeak_

Nick's emerald eyes widened then blinked in surprise, his ears straightened up. Carefully, he applied another pressure on the toy.

 _Squeak squeak_

Just like his apparent fondness to fluffy things, his jaw went open in a big, goofy grin as he toyed with the rubber duck more and more. It surprised both him and Judy, and more when he subconsciously squealed in delight ; Judy had just discovered that foxes could actually _squeal_.

At first, the sight of a very childish Nick for his age playing with the toy kind of heartwarming and at the same time, amusing for Judy. But after several squeaks, the noise became irritating for her so she called him for an interruption. But Nick was so absorbed at the yellow toy that he went deaf ears against Judy's stern calling.

Then the rabbit took a deep breath.

" _Nicholas Wilde!"_

"Oww!"

That worked out, as the shout pierced through his hearing and almost made him lost his balance. He fumbled over the rubber duck which had slipped from his paw, and finally made a firm grip with both of his paw, which produced the last squeak. Nick had to resist the urge to squeak it more.

When reality snapped him back, Nick's ears lowered as he frantically looked around.

He must've looked dumb back then.

Relievingly, no one was there, except for the bunny he knew so well who was stifling a laugh.

"I don't look stupid, do I?" as the question flew, Judy broke with a 'pff' and she guffawed, followed by Nick's nervous laugh. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Can I keep this?" the red fox asked, the rubber duck still in his paw.

"Of course. That's for you, anyway." Judy scoffed, after recovering from her hysterical laugh.

"It's so c- cute," Nick had to pause for a moment to think about the c-word, but he guessed it was just fine.

"Nick, what did I tell you between _bunny_ and _cute?"_ Judy, half-lid eye, glared at him.

"They don't come together," Nick countered with his natural smirk. "See…" he brought the rubber duck next to her face.

"This squeaky duck is cute…" with his another idle paw, he pointed at the duck. Then, he moved his paw to the bunny. "… and this rabbit is adorable."

"What a flattery." she fought the urge to smirk, and let a genuine smile took over.

"Well there's the difference though," Nick wasn't finished. He traced his paw back to the duck "This duck can only squeak, while this rabbit…" after several seconds considering proper euphemism, he spoke. "… well, uttering nonsense?"

Her smile dropped.

"Oh, thanks." she flatly replied.

"I have a feeling that there's an impending nonsense coming up …" Nick muttered.


	3. Sunday

A/N : I edited the ending, so you may want to check it out again xD

* * *

The alarm buzzed softly, a series of encouraging melody ringing across the small room. Another noise followed up, but with different tune and louder one. The morning started with two alarm competing over two sleeping mammals, and had they been awaken, they would've realized that the room was noisy as hell.

The gray bunny was the first to rose, apparently. She sat straight, stretching up while yawning, still with her eyes closed. Judy reluctantly banged the alarm, shutting it off, before crouching down and snuggled close to her blanket. She tried to ignore the second alarm, hoping that another person in her room would just wake up and snap it off.

Minutes passed with irritating tune, and after completely sure she couldn't go back to sleep, Judy crawled over to the edge of the bed. There, she found the source of the noise, which was Nick's phone. Judy reached out and slide the screen, turning off the alarm. She took a moment to look at her partner, wondering how on earth he could still peacefully sleep with the noise close to him.

Nick was sleeping soundly, with one paw acted as his pillow. The fox was completely covered in her spare blanket, which she was never fond to use because it was oversized. Though, because Nick shared about the similar size, the thick blanket was enough to serve as sleeping mat as well as blanket. He was completely curled and tangled in the blanket, making him look like a croissant – which she found herself thinking of hot dog, though it didn't seem to sound right because it ought to be _hot fox_ , and she could be sure it didn't sound right _either_.

Judy hopped off her bed and crouched down, examining the sleeping fox silently. His face radiated nothing but peace and contentment, and had she got a marking pen, she wouldn't mind to do a little art in the morning.

That thought caused her to giggle softly. She rose and grabbed her own phone, taking a good shot of photo on her sleeping partner. Unfortunately, she forgot to turn off the flash, and the blinding light prompted Nick to open his eyes.

"Mmm, moncha?" he murmured softly. The emerald eyes were still filled with weariness, Judy noticed.

"Wake up, furball." Judy tenderly nudged his side with both her paws, shaking the fox in a steady motion.

Nick yawned aloud, reaching his own phone and muttered a breath.

"It's still six…" he protested, barely audible. Luckily enough his partner was a bunny with big ears.

"Yeah, time to start the day." Judy spoke with a smile, her paw now rested on Nick's arm.

"But it's Sunday…" Nick groaned and rolled to other side, an unconscious attempt of his own body to avoid Judy's concern to wake him up.

The bunny wasn't so thrilled to spend her whole day sleeping, but she could let her partner for another hours. After all, Nick did make a point ; it was none other than Sunday.

What neither of them expected happen was when Judy awkwardly lift him up, and gingerly moved him to her bed. Judy herself was surprised of what had come to her and how she was able to carry the slightly bigger mammal, yet she further noted that Nick actually was lighter than what she thought.

But Nick seemed to not concern it anymore, so Judy let her thought slip away.

Right now, the red fox was resting on his belly with soft snore, his muzzle nuzzled on her pillow. Although he was half-conscious, he took a mental note that Judy's bed smell so nice. He made further mental note to ask of her shampoo, if she wouldn't mind.

Judy observed the slumbering mammals, part of her suggested to let him sleep and she could leave him for a while to grab breakfast, but another part advised to just stay and loaf together until mid-afternoon.

But she took the rational one.

"Nick, I'll be back soon-

She was interrupted when a furred arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer.

"No. Stay." was all Nick could mutter to justify his action.

She realized that Nick might be half awake or half asleep, other way around, so she shrugged and let him be.

She laid down with her back on him, trying to push his paw off. But after several futile attempt, she let a sigh escape and smiled. At least, they weren't _sleeping together_ , with the fact one was fully awake.

Nick was right. They should spend the better part of Sunday more to lounge around or simply sleep, with cuddling came close behind.

* * *

Around 11 AM, there was a loud gasp followed by a vehement shout of clamor.

"JUDY!" and after a short pause, a lesser but still exasperated cry echoed. "What have we done?!"

A meek answer came right after.

"Umm, spending Sunday morning?"


	4. Revelation

A/N : Thanks for guest reviewers and everyone! As a new writer, I surely need any supports I can have. And after these chapters, mind to share your thought about it? I'm kinda planning to keep going this _daily-updated_ story.

A point is, I've been trying to keep the story on Judy and Nick platonic friendship, nothing more. So if you see any hint of romance, I believe it ain't different with what best friends do xD

Anyway, pretty long notes. Please do enjoy, and leave your thought !

* * *

Judy and Nick were enjoying their lunch on their cruiser, with Nick picking up BugBurga and Judy with some cheap street-food salad. Series of laughter and chuckles were traded, and after their meal was finished, they prepared to go back on patrol.

"Nick." Judy called. She had the key on, but there was no sign of her to start the engine.

"Hmm?" Nick responded, wondering what would come up this time.

"I have something to say." the gray bunny said, her voice flat while her eyes stared blank through the windshield.

"You love me?" Nick kidded playfully, grinning in amusement. The thing he had once said during their first patrol together was recalled on both side.

"We both know well I do," Judy couldn't help but smile back on him. Then, the gesture faded. "Listen, I will be grateful if you for a moment can stop chiding on anything I'm about to say."

"No guarantee though," Nick was unsure, but that wasn't the answer she expected that she threw him a made-up scornful look. "Okay, I'm all ears." he said in defeat.

"This includes something in the past," Judy added quickly, her grip on the wheel tightened. She lolled her face away, looking at the windshield again. "You okay with it?"

There was a barely audible of murmur of agreement, and so she went on.

"Remember the thing I used to bring on me?" _fox repellant_ would indeed be the noun, but she somehow found herself uncomfortable using it. And Nick was not a _dumb fox_ not to understand where this was going.

"Uh huh," Nick nodded in acknowledgement. He wasn't fond of where this would go, but the fox just chilled out.

"Have you ever wondered," Judy trailed off, thinking of proper question. "… why on earth I brought that and not other species repellant?" she didn't know whether the unknown chemical material on it could be used as to other canines, or in general, other predators, but she assumed it wouldn't do.

"Because foxes are untrustworthy?" Nick nonchalantly replied, leaving several spaces at the end of his words. Both of them knew Nick could just go with all of fox stereotypes at the moment.

"No." Judy quickly declined. Her ears started to droop low, which did not escape from her partner's attention.

"Then my guess is you might have unfortunate past with foxes." Nick pressed his forehead on his final presume. This turned out to be slightly intriguing, althought also worrying, the fox noted.

"Clever fox, as always," Judy let a sincere laugh slipped. "I was thinking I can just let you guessing until the fact is there." despite the air of their conversation, she purposely winked at the fox.

"It'll be easier for you just to spit out." Nick grunted slightly in both astonishment of the bunny and the awkward discovery.

"Alright," Judy cleared her throat as she began her story-telling. "See, when I was nine, I had this fox _friend_ ," she pondered for a moment, having to refer Gideon as her _friend_ sounded peculiar. "This and that happened, and ended up by him mauling me," shuddering at the memory, she unconsciously brushed her left cheeks. "Right on my face."

A low growl, followed by a restrained snarl with gritted teeth came as the reply.

"Reasons?" Nick managed to overcome his unknown hatred and asked.

"Well, he stole my friends' tickets so I was just bringing justice," Judy shrugged with eyes closed, letting a resigned sigh. "Turns out I'm beaten to pulp."

"J- Carrots," Nick shifted his glance at the bunny, his paws on her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I was thinking-

"No. I mean, in the past," he cut her before any objections. "Before your _horrible_ speech." they had both agreed long before that whenever Judy's first press conference was somehow brought up, there shouldn't be any ill will to spill, so Nick believed it was safe to mention the event. It turned out Judy had no sign of taking any offence, but she sighed deeply.

"I…" she stopped mid-track, glancing away for a moment. Another sigh escaped from her lips. "At first, I didn't think it would be that worse. When I met you and we got along, part of me believed you were different. And the hope of us as a pair partner blossomed back then…"

"Wow, such a big word." Nick remarked, hoping to brighten the atmosphere. Judy smiled at his obvious attempt, her ears swayed softly.

"I didn't think you'd scare me in that way. It all happened so fast, and perhaps it was an act of impulse." she clutched the steering wheel tighter she could feel her palm hurt. They shared a moment in silence, gazing the crowded street throughout the windshield, mind travelling somewhere, dwelling beneath the memory.

"I'm sorry." Judy spoke finally. Her voice cracked, prompting Nick to glance sideway in alarm. Sure he was, because Judy's eyes were glassy already. He reached out, brushing her paw in comforting way.

"Carrots, listen. It's all in the past, you had apologized, I had forgiven you, and we're good now. I'm just glad you tell me." the words flew with no spaces, being panic presently, and Nick was uncertain whether it consoled her wrecked state or not. "I mean, we were all traumatized back then," he cautiously added, his other paw rested on his chest as he memorized. "I was also emotionally unstable, having the person I trusted claiming the old prey and predators thingies, and the news, muzzled predators…"

Judy listened in silence. Back then, she was focused on the press conference that she failed to notice that there was upcoming news on her back. Did it have something with muzzled mammals? Now she realized that Nick was just broken mentally, for the aforementioned event that he accused her speech and possibly feeling greatly offended afterward.

Even as a slick fox, charming, cool and calm as he was, Nick suffered traumatic experience just like her.

Granted, now the fox seemed to lost in thought, his chin supported by his other paw, while the other still rested on her paw. She lightly brushed it, acquiring his attention. Judy offered a genuine smile on him – which she was glad her partner returned the smile with authentic grin of his.

"I guess we can call it even?" the gray bunny raised her knuckled paw, offering a fist bump which her partner seemed to be delighted to take on.

"Sure," Nick approved, reaching out his balled fist as well. "Don't you think it's the time to hug after those emotional heart-to-heart talk?" he suggested, leering upon the bunny with half-lid eye and casual mischievous smile.

"I don't see your point there," Judy smirked as she started the engine. The cruiser jumped out as it started roaring. "Either way, you ain't getting any," she playfully added, poking her partner's snout lightly. She drove the car in silence, and Nick seemed to notice her sentence was yet finished. "… for now."

"Heh." was all Nick could reply, without showing any sign of anticipation.


	5. Candy

A/N : Hi guys, sorry for the late post! The past 4 chapters were posted on morning ( here ), and last chapter especially, was made while I was working – turned out it needed pretty good amount of revision. And today I got tons of work, so pardon me! I have a draft before, but because it has similarity with previous chapter, I turn it down for later post.

It's still Tuesday when I post this, so technically I'm still doing daily update :D

* * *

No one held a protest against sweets, especially on the walk after full-day work. Judy and Nick grabbed some on their way back from ZPD Headquarter, though their choice was a light one ; popsicle.

The bunny found herself slightly annoyed by the fact that Nick had winked at her while holding the strawberry-flavored one, reminding her of his old-street pawpsicle. Her scrunched face further approved her significant change of mood, earning a chuckle from the fox.

"Scoundrel," Judy muttered, her blackcurrant popsicle for a moment went sour.

" _Former_." Nick corrected, pointing her with the candy. "You forgot the prefix, dear."

"From what I see, you're still one," Judy leered at her partner with unamused look, although a gleam of delight was evident in her eyes. She wasn't surprised to find her mood in an abrupt swing with Nick by her side.

Nick shot a smirk back.

"Yeah, I _was_ and I _am_ ," he stated proudly, a paw on his chest. "And somehow, this scoundrel is paired with the swift, brave,-" the compliment was genuine, Judy noted. She was about to offer an appreciative smile on him, but his next word compelled her to withdraw.

"- yet cute bunny-"

"Nick." Judy rebuked with flat tone.

In further admonishment, she crunched on the hard candy while shooting him a glare, the crushed sweet was clear and audible. Nick winced at the sound, a mental note was made today to subtract the _'cute'_ word from his dictionary.

They strolled and passed through the crowd in silence afterward. Nick was still trying to enjoy the popsicle and maintain it, licking and savoring with tenderness, unlike Judy's which had just shattered in pieces. He needed to come up with something to sooth their state of affairs.

He took a moment to glance at his partner. She appeared to still gnawing at the plastic stalk, though he was sure the candy itself had long been gone. Then something caught his attention.

"Uhh, Carrots?" the red fox called nervously. When Judy leveled her glance on his, he gestured at his own chin. Judy unconsciously followed him, and found fractions of the popsicle beneath her grey fur. The bunny quickly wiped them off, but they left the gluey stains, and it felt uncomfortable.

"Ugh, it's sticky." Judy complained. She regretted giving an awful end to the confection – after all, it didn't deserve that. Now she was overthinking, and even beginning to consider a popsicle as living being.

"Might want to find closest restroom to wash that," Nick advised. As a mammal who had decades working on making pawpsicle, he knew all too well that it would go nasty once the sticky liquid went on fur. "It'll be awfully ugly the more you let it be." he cautioned further, and went back enjoying his sweet treats happily.

"Won't be long to my apartment," Judy hastened her pace, but the feeling lingered there was becoming more and more annoying. All she needed was water, but there was no sign on public toilet or restroom around her.

 _Oh great_ , she scarcely cursed herself. There was other option, but she was self-conscious doing it in open area, especially with Nick around. But giving a try wouldn't hurt, so she averted her gaze to the side, avoiding to be seen by Nick.

Her mind had suggested her to _groom_. The main problem was since bunnies were not bestowed with long tongue, all she could do was wetting the back of her paw and use it to lessen the stain.

She hoped that Nick wouldn't pay attention, but t _hat_ didn't slip from the fox's peripheral vision. He smirked devilishly, blocking her way and crouched to her eye level.

"Do our bunny need some _help_?" Nick perilously asked, his voice deep, eyes staring straight on Judy's lavender eyes. The fox subconsciously let his tongue brush along his snout.

Judy gulped.

"Err, I guess I'll just need to get to apartment _sooner_. See ya tomorrow Nick!" she left with a dash, sprinting all the way through the sidewalk.

Nick stared at the fleeing bunny with baffled expression.

"Well, I honestly think she needs this," his paw produced a small package of wipes from his pocket. "Oh well. I'm thrilled to _help_ her now." Nick couldn't hide his evil grin, if _that_ was the help Judy could think of.


	6. Cradle

A/N : Among about 4 drafts, I'll pick this one for today. This chapter personally is fun for me.

* * *

Recent investigation from ZPD Intel claimed that there had been a peculiar assembly on certain spot, mainly on the dark alleys that rouse suspicion of nearby citizens. Judy and Nick were tasked to look for any evidences to confirm the report. They had explored almost a quarter of the city since the morning, questioning the neighborhood in hope to find any witnesses.

They ended up in another alleyway and found an orange van parked there. Nick snickered and threw a smug smirk at Judy, scooting to the vehicle. Judy recognized the van, and quickly followed. If there were a saying _criminals know criminals_ , then Nick's former partner would certainly be helpful.

The fox knocked three times, followed by another two with pause between. Sure enough, the backdoor opened without the mammals inside holding a bat.

Finnick didn't look amused to find Nick standing there, especially with that glowing eyes of his. The fennec had decades with Nick, and he could just read the red fox in an instant that he had demands.

"Isn't it my old buddy Finnick?" Nick, with sweetened voice – which, at some point had Judy in disgust – called with a smile and open arm.

"Ain't fun time," Finnick flatly responded with eyes narrowed, dismissing the offer of hug. He hopped from the van and delivered a smack on Nick's forehead, the red fox wincing gave him a reason to smirk.

Judy watched from behind Nick and she could clearly see those two undoubtedly had a chemistry.

Realizing Nick wasn't alone, Finnick tilted his head to get a better look, his big ears swayed softly.

"Oh, it's the lil toot toot." Judy greeted with a wave of paw.

"Hello to you too, Officer," Finnick replied with much friendlier tone, even with an act of honor by taking off an invisible hat. He then shot a nasty look to Nick, who stared at him in feigned hurt look. "You're not getting that." the fennec pointed a finger accusingly.

"Well well, you're not getting away with that, _son_." Nick chuckled with his own emphasize.

Another smack in forehead, and Finnick dusted his paw.

"So what's the business?"

After explaining the situation, Finnick's only reply was a look of disapproval and a shrug, much to the duo cops' disappointment.

"Look mate, I'm clearly not a guy in the sunshine, but that doesn't mean I'm hiding anything I know from you guys," Finnick stated cooly. "I haven't heard any of them. You may want to scout in around 2 AM though. Some hyenas like to stalk in early morning." he added, with Judy scribbling it in her notepad.

"Heh, I'm surprised you ain't one of them." Nick scoffed playfully. This time, he managed to block the tackle from the jumping fennec, grinning widely.

"Well thanks for the help, Finnick." Judy said, and was about to leave but something stopped her.

"Carrots?" Nick asked, tilting his head on her. They had gotten enough enlightenment from the fennec, so they could call it a day. There must be another matter bugging her mind.

"Actually, I have a request. Can I?" the bunny shifted on her wheel, walking back to the light-colored vehicle. Nick narrowed his eyes, questioning himself of what she would want.

"What? Is there any other missing mammal that you need to hustle me?" Finnick raised his eyebrow on her. He was about to climb back to the van, but managed still. While replying, he snickered at Nick, the memory was still fresh and clear, the funniest moment he could remember. "You're darn good at it," he praised the bunny cop. "You two should go hustle some."

Judy raised her eyebrow as well on the suggestion, throwing a glance at Nick. The red fox only planted the casual smug smirk, so she presumed it wasn't really a bad idea.

Hell, if they weren't a _cop_.

"No." Judy replied shortly. "If you don't mind? This will be quick." without another word, she placed her paw on the fennec's hip and lifted him up. Before Finnick could even scold her, he was brought to a hug.

Nick knew that the most thing Finnick hated was when he was treated as a toddler, so he simply waited for the fennec to knock some sense to the bunny. Though, he admitted feeling some uneasiness stuck in his stomach seeing Judy hugging the smaller fox.

The bothered look on Nick's eyes told Finnick a better way to react. He smirked and cuddled closer to Judy, even made a laugh on the embrace. For the first time, he _enjoyed_ pretending to be a toddler.

Nick, who was left alone, growled in protest. He saw red, and the next thing he did was split the two, scooping the small fox in his arm and glared at Judy.

"No one's getting Finnick in the arm, except _me_ ," he scowled. Judy deadpanned and was totally blank ; she expected the bigger fox to claim faked jealousy over her, but it was over the fennec. Not that she was hurt though, it was awkward. Now the said fox full of surprise was making sweet face against the fennec's scornful look. "Miss your daddy already?"

There was an echoed sound of loud thwack all the way down the alley.

"Count your luck you still have your bastard snout," Finnick dusted his paws as he entered the van. " _Ciao_." he slammed the door close, Judy cringed at the sound. She then looked at the beaten fox laid helpless on the ground, and the urge to burst into laugh was almost irresistible.

"Well, the daddy in action gets beaten by the son in action." she managed to say in sputter of giggles.

"Oof, ambulance…" Nick gingerly raised one of his paw, waving it in the way of requesting first aid.

"Get up now or you'll get another one." Judy warned, balled her fist and held it close to the fox's face.

"Fiiiine," Nick grumbled, his fun got to end shortly. He dusted his police uniform as he rose. "You know, if you're that kind of fond to cradle a fox, there's me."

Nick hadn't even got a chance to get the vicious smirk on his countenance. He felt something knocked his balance off and all he could see was the clear sky and the feeling of gravity taking over him was dreadful.

He thought he was falling and prepared himself for a harsh landing, but he was _not_.

"Granted." Judy winked at her partner, her arms carried him in bridal style with Nick's tail wagging furiously.

"You're really into it..." Nick sighed, covering his face with his paw. He was sure that part of him was redder than he usually was.

They were still on their uniform as well on their duty, so both of them were aware fooling around during work time was violating rules.

But who cared?


	7. Headache

Nick stirred on his sleep by the sound of rushing water through the glass window. He shifted uncomfortably, tossing the blanket aside. But the moment the icy and cold air greeted the clumsy fox, he grabbed the thick cover and snuggled in it again.

Zootopia had been raining in the past 3 days. Almost with no stop, every day and night, the dark clouds surrounded the whole city, threatening with thundering storm and roaring gust. The night had gotten even colder, with the rain came and halt in unknown rhythm.

Nick was not on his luck when he decided to grab a late dinner to a 24-hours restaurant last night, only to be greeted with the heavy rain after he finished eating. He didn't put much to consider, to the point that he barged through the awful weather, shielding his head with only his paws. When he got to his apartment, he was soaked from head to heel, and had to thoroughly shake himself out of water before entering the room.

He seemed to regret the foolish and reckless action, because right now the fox had a terrible headache. He cursed himself, his paw trying to soothe the pain by massaging his head. It made almost no difference, and he growled in frustration. He wanted to go back to sleep and hope the aching would ease once he got up, but the pain was almost unbearable.

The vulpine sighed, almost distressed, and scooped up his phone. There were 3 missed calls and 5 texts from Judy. A rush feeling of guilt dwelled in his gut ; he set his favorite song for Judy's notification, but that hadn't gotten through his deep sleep, perhaps. Or maybe that damn head of his just stopped processing anything.

Letting out another pained growl, he managed to scroll down his phone and called the bunny. He squinted his eyes, the light of the screen starting to hurt his eyes, and brought the phone to his face.

Thankfully, Judy was quick to answer the call.

 _"Hi Nick!"_ the glee voice buzzed.

"Sorry I was-" Nick was about to explain but had his statement cut.

 _"Awake now?"_ Judy's voice rang, and Nick muttered something under his breath as an answer.

"Hrrh," he growled. He felt like his brain was getting thousand nails stabbing everywhere. "My damn head hurts like hell."

Nick was quite sure if this were a MuzzleTime, Judy would look worried with her amethyst eyes narrowed.

 _"Get some nap. I'll be there in about 20 minutes."_ the bunny's reply had Nick in question, but the excruciating pain ceased his attempt to give it a thought.

"How can I go to sleep when someone's going on my place?" Nick replied softly, almost like a whisper. He knew Judy got his spare key, so there shouldn't be any nuisance of her visit. "Grrh." he realized she did make sense. The fox plopped down and weakly let the phone slip from his paw. He shut his eyes, covering them with his arm, hoping to doze off as soon as possible.

 _"Just lay down already."_ was Judy's last line, and after a while, the phone hung.

* * *

A soft tap on his side brought Nick to conscious state. He pushed the paw away, moaning in protest.

"Not now…" he grumbled, although now his eyes were half open.

Judy shifted to another side of his bed, now placing her paw on his shoulder. She tenderly massaged the stiff neck, earning soft moan, but this time in delight.

"Feeling better?" Judy queried, continuing her careful kneading.

"I'm not sure," Nick managed to reply, yawning between the words. The pain in his head had somehow lessened, and he got to his senses much better. The fox's nose twitched. "What's this smell?"

"Something to make you feel better?" Judy crawled over to his drawer, where she grabbed a plastic sack with two styrofoam bowls in it . "I brought corn soup." she handed one to him, prompting the vulpine to sit.

Nick pushed himself up, resting his back against the wall. He gingerly reached out to his portion of brunch while allowing a tiny grin on his face.

"Thanks Carrots," he said weakly, letting the bowl rest between his legs which was still steaming when he opened the lid. "But how on earth..?" he glanced sideway, finding Judy looking at him in worry.

"You texted me last night," she reminded him with a soft tap on his muzzle, giggling quietly. "I figure out to check on you today, because I don't believe you survived going through the storm," the bunny passed him plastic spoon and set of medicine wrapped in smaller plastic. "Had that head of yours really stopped working?" she kidded as she rose, deliberately pet his head. Nick found it soothing, so he leaned to her caressing paw.

"Kind of it," Nick replied and afterward sighed, rubbing his temple. "This was worse than getting drunk."

Judy kind of interested if Nick had experiences on drinking, or even getting drunk, but for now she wouldn't pry him. Giving her partner space would quite be appreciated.

"Eat up," Judy slid off the topic, urging him to fill his stomach. "Take the medicine and go back to sleep."

"God, my precious Saturday with only _sleeps_." Nick scoffed, shrugging his shoulder as he tasted the soup. Fortunately it wasn't the creamy one, and the warm soup on a rainy day was the best choice.

"At least it was worth thing to consider of not going against the rain." Judy mocked him, taking another spoonful of her own soup. For a moment, she liked of how this was going ; a rainy day, eating warm soup with Nick's company, and their casual conversation and mocking each other.

"Yeah sure." Nick grinned.

The rest of the time was traded in silence, the cascading water on the windows served as the music of the murky day.

Once they got finished, Judy took care of the thrashes and handed Nick a glass of water. Nick had never been fond with pills, since that most of them were bitter. Though, it couldn't be helped now so he swallowed the three tablet in one shot.

"Now get some rest." Judy advised, or he thought, _ordered_.

"And how about you?" although he was feeling much better, he complied with her suggestion and snuggled in the blanket. Judy gave him a look and sat closer, smiling in what he presumed as joyful one.

"Until I can make sure you're able to walk on yourself, I'll stay." she swayed her ear playfully as she said the words. On normal circumstance, he would have made remarks on her _unreasonable reason_.

"That's… benevolent of you." Nick snickered, the first teasing he made on the day with Judy laughing on it.

"Off you go," the bunny hopped off the bed, giving the fox last stroke on head. His ears twitching happily, and underneath the cover, tail dancing in joy. "Have a nice dream."

Well, he supposed getting sick was not that suck.


	8. Coffee

A/N : This 8th chapter marks one-week of this story! I'm proud I can still keeping this up, and for a month I'm pretty sure I'm able to do so. Let's just see how this will survive xD

And I hope all of you are enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing every slices of their life

* * *

"I need refreshment."

The hoarse pronouncement distracted Judy. The bunny decelerated slowly, not wanting to let both of them hit the dashboard right on face. She peered over him only to find the fox had rested his arm lazily at the side window, his eyes closed. At the moment, she wished the car had had the power window button.

Judy understood very well once Nick said his line, she needed to make a stop on the closest café or any shop which offered fresh coffee. Fortunately – or unfortunately, for Judy's account – only few blocks ahead there was the Stallducks, the most popular coffee brewer.

They parked the car, and Judy stopped the engine while nudging her drowsy partner. Nick desperately tried to keep his eyes open, but it only succeeded on half-eye lid.

"Something for you?" he sluggishly asked, undoing his seat belt as he jumped off.

"Nah, I'll pass." Judy waved her paw in dismiss, earning furrowed eyebrow from her partner before he spun and left. She giggled on Nick's almost look-like sleepwalk.

Stallducks was Nick's favorite, although it was the opposite of Judy. She never liked it ; the coffee wasn't really a coffee. She tried once and after comparing with its ridiculous price, the bunny swore not going to pay for any other.

Not that she objected on Nick's questionable taste, but the café indeed offered numerous choices. She didn't feel like she hated the whole café because one of it actually did not qualify her taste, but that was it.

Right now, she watched the red fox walking toward their car. While in his suit, Nick wouldn't wound his own pride by walking like a lifeless mammals, but Judy could see that he was trying hard not to stumble upon the way.

She chuckled, and opened the door for him, a murmur of gratitude was barely audible.

Once they went back to road, she opened the dashboard drawer, fumbling over for a banana cookie pack, and passed it to the fox. His eyes were wide open, only for a moment.

"You never mention bringing snacks." Nick protested, sipping the iced coffee while unwrapping the cookies.

"When I do, they're all devoured," Judy laughed in mocking manner, her ears went straight up in excitement. "In minutes." the gray bunny finished, grinning at the soporific vulpine.

She reached out for the cookies, but Nick scooted away just in time, smirking in triumph as he made a slow motion of eating the snack.

Judy went back focus on driving, puffing her cheek, the common pout of hers.

"Blame my appetite." Nick laughed at her adorable façade. He even showed no guilt when he crumpled the wrapper and licked his fingers happily. The fox put the empty plastic to his styrofoam cup , which had already depleted a moment before.

Still, the sleepiness refused to cease and instead, lingered there.

"It won't hurt to have an earlier break, you know." Judy implied, the idea itself appealed the fox but he kept the cool, crossing his arms in reply.

"I'm good." Nick dejected with a grunt. He really lost almost all of his sleep last night, and now leaning over the seat offered him a chance to doze briefly. The vulpine bit his lower lip softly, waving off the notion. The last thing he would want to do was leaving his partner on the patrol alone, though technically he wasn't.

The coffee seemingly failed to rouse him up.

"Nick, I may consider to pass the wheel on you and let's see if you're doing _good_." Judy challenged, tersely snickering at his direction before focusing back on the road.

"We both know you have better sense of driving." Nick stirred the empty plastic cup, his fuzzy mind began recollecting in slow pattern.

Well, he really needed to consider _bickering_ as his option to rouse his spirit.

"And last time someone said I was a bad driver as a bunny." Judy huffed her cheek in annoyance. Nick noticed, and lightly pinched her cheek while slipping a grin.

"Should've been a _present_ tense," he added a poke on her pink nose, which then twitched happily. Judy made sure the street was clear before facing him and tackled his snout. "Oof!"

"So you're awake now?" she chided in delight, the conversation became lively.

"Full speed?" Nick had his aviator in his paw out of nowhere, grinning in confirmation. "I'm game."

She was his caffeine. And as much as it sounded weird, he couldn't deny himself.


	9. Record

A/N : I tried to make short stories, but curse me, most of them somehow turned to not-quite-a-short-story. I had to cut most of the parts ( and cut myself for continuing further xD )

* * *

The clock had made almost its way toward five. The ZPD Department was never in rush except when there were special cases, even when it was time to go home. Usually most Officers tended to stay behind, slacking off with others to trade some talks before deciding to leave minutes after the bells rang.

Since today was another mundane day, Chief Bogo was generous enough to let his subordinates to depart an hour earlier. Although, few were still remaining due to their overloading work.

Clawhauser was one of them. As the dispatcher, he would want to make sure no reports were submitted until his official duty time ended. And believed as much as he was bored, he found his own way to kill the time.

"Hey Ben!"

A sudden cheerful voice called, and Clawhauser was confused because no one was there.

Except when he looked down.

"Judy Hopps! What on earth are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to get bed rest?" the frantic cheetah scrambled over, almost falling from his desk as the questions were fired like rifle gun. Judy couldn't restrain herself for laughing at him.

"I'm feeling much better. And I believe it'll be much better when I come to see my partner," Judy flipped her paws casually, amused smile on her face. "Have you seen him?" she asked.

"Hmm," Clawhauser scratched his chin in attempt to remember. "It's about time to go home, and I've seen others on their way out. But I don't recall seeing your fox." when he saw Judy glaring at him disapprovingly, he realized something. "Whoops, talk about possession," the chubby cheetah put his paws on his puffy cheeks in delight, earning giggles from the bunny. "Maybe he's still doing some paperwork?"

Judy rolled her eyes. If Nick were staying for _paperworks_ , then perhaps she was lost in another dimension.

"I'll check it. Thanks Ben!"

* * *

Judy tiptoed to the cubicle room, while keeping her eyes occupied to other rooms. She wanted to surprise the fox that she had recovered well enough, with him declaring that she would never leave her bed for another two days before she could go back to work.

Just as she scooted closer, a ringtone rang. She splayed her ears to listen.

The melody abruptly stopped.

"Hello?"

That was him, Judy thought. She wouldn't miss his particular husky voice, which she never felt enough to listen on their daily banter. Although on her concern, this one sounded more lenient.

Peeking over the window through small part which the curtain failed to cover, Judy stared inside, making sure she wasn't wrong. And indeed, Nick was there with his phone on the table and him laying his head lazily on top of his arms, which had rested on the table as well.

Seemed like he had gotten into a call from someone, and Judy wouldn't waste her mind to guess who was calling. Nick had incredible relations around the city, even outside Zootopia, so she supposed this was one of them.

"You're not the only one who are surprised – I am, as well. How are you?"

 _'I'm fine, thanks. How about you?'_ Judy murmured softly, letting her mind wander as if she were the one who called him.

"Yeah, I'm good as always. You don't have to ask."

That was accurate, she almost laughed.

 _'Doing good with the cops?'_ Judy continued, whispering to no one in particular.

"You got it."

She was unsure if that would count as correct. Nick's answer was versatile, but to be fair, she wasn't wrong either with such respond.

There was not much pause on his upcoming line, so Judy couldn't think of her remark.

"Anyway, are you up for movie this weekend?" she could hear Nick's voice soften, and after then realized that she shouldn't stalk him any longer. Nick was having a good time talking with someone, even asking him/her out.

Judy sighed and ran her paw to her ears, which had drooped low on her account of eavesdropping. She started to leave, walking slowly on the hall. As much as she forced herself to not overhear him, Nick's voice boomed amidst the silent department.

"I'd like to see anything with you," there was an adjacent pause. "It's been a long time…"

Judy began to recollect any memories with Nick that had him telling her someone on his past. But she couldn't find one. This person must be someone close to him years ago, for she could tell the longing in his sudden hoarse voice.

"I'll pick you up at six,"

The gray bunny could feel that their conversation was about to end. If she wanted to take a leave, this was the time. But the thought of sneaking on him concerned her, so she stayed. After all, she did want to surprise him, didn't she?

"See you," another pause and followed by a loud sigh. "Now that's kind of stupid…"

"You have me agreeing with it." Judy couldn't help but commented in amusement.

The voice was unmistaken. Nick rushed to the wall, waving off the curtain and found his partner looking through the window with a genuine smile.

"Carrots?" he went to the door and kicked it open, jogged on her direction. "What are you doing here?"

Her plan of surprising him was diminished. She could say he worried more on _why she was here_ and not _why hadn't she stayed on bed._ She found the guilty stung all over her.

"Sneaking for some lovey dovey phone call?"

His pupils shrink.

"Oh, you did eavesdrop?" Nick questioned, but no drastic change of tone. "Boy, I'm caught." he even made a disappointed look and covered his snout with his paws, but what came right after was a soft chuckle.

Judy hadn't even been conscious enough to realize she was holding breath. Realizing that Nick actually went cool over it, she sighed and decided to pester him a little.

"I won't ask who is it, thouuuugh." Judy drawled in playful tone, winking at him. She found him glancing away, and proceeded further. "But I like your romantic side."

"Huh?" his face scrunched when he looked back at her, and his goofy grin replaced any of her concern. "I bet you like every side of mine, including which you even have yet to know." Nick stated in confidence, proudly clasping his paws together on his chest.

"Well? Maybe we can find out." Judy suggested, but feigned a frown. "But not this weekend, since you already have a date, I suppose."

"You bring your phone?" Nick abruptly changed the topic. He furrowed his eyebrow in further contemplation. "You don't bring your carrot pen, do you?"

There was a look of horror in his pupils, and evil plan popped in the bunny's mind.

"About time you ask." she rummaged her pocket, pulling out her trademark pen. Nick wasn't look amused.

"Now someone's gonna start blackmailing me." he protested, reaching out for the pen. Judy gave a smug smirk as she held the fox back. Of course she wouldn't be able to hold him had he been serious, so she knew they were just fooling around.

Besides, in all honesty, she _never_ recorded.

"That never occurs on my mind, to be honest," Judy stayed on her bluffing, doing a 'tsk-tsk' finger wave on him. "I'll keep this to remember goody slick Nick." she stored the carrot pen back while sticking her tongue out on him.

"Oh well." Nick grinned. "Let's go, I'm starving."

His phone suddenly rang, the exact same ringtone as previous. The fox gulped before swiftly sliding his paw on the screen.

"Why did you put that off?" Judy asked quietly. "I mean, if you want privacy, I can just leave." she thumbed the hall behind her.

"And stay still behind the door and listening?" Nick snickered. This time, he winked at the flustered bunny. "It's fine, Carrots. I'm too distracted now."

They walked together without any talks, neither dared to invade the space of silence they had created for each other.

It was then, when Nick picked his phone and brought it on his face.

"Sorry, I'll have you know, it is just alarm." and with that, he pocketed the gadget back.

Judy couldn't make out the sudden call he made, but decided against asking it to him. Maybe his neighbors texted him the noise in his apartment?

She didn't want to make any other wild guesses today. Or rather, _Wilde_ guesses.

* * *

When Judy reached home, she jumped on her bed and grabbed her phone. During her recovery, she set her phone on silent mode so that her abnormal time of sleep wouldn't be disturbed.

She found out there were 2 voicemails.

And both were Nick's - one with 01.44 duration and another with a very short 00.07

When she looked at the time they were sent, her eyes widened.

One moment later, after clarifying what she needed to hear, she called the fox.

"You darn, stupid, cunning, witty, clever, silly, sly fox!"


	10. Clouds

A/N : The previous chapter is a bit tricky, but if you read it twice, I'm sure you'll get it.

We're reaching 2 digits people! I may exaggerate, but I'm totally blithe in writing again after years xD

* * *

"There you are!"

Judy trotted toward the relaxing fox, who had acknowledged her presence as he waved. She was looking for him for a while, and her gut had the saying that he ought to be here - at the place where undesired memory remained.

Sure enough, Nick had his seat and feet stand settled close to the stone bridge, although much farther than when she found him in the past. The sun had climbed up high on the horizon, so staying under a tree was much comfortable rather than on an open space.

"Hello Fluff." Nick greeted her airily with his other paw taking off the sunglasses briefly, squinting his eyes over plastic cups on both of Judy's paws. She handed him one ; a mix of strawberry and banana juice.

"Enjoying nature's blessing?" Judy cheerily asked as she seated next to him, taking a sip of her own drink.

"Well, if you put it that way, then yes." Nick nodded lazily, closing his eyes as a wave of wind swept by.

Judy plopped down on the grassy ground, splaying her arms in glee.

"Whuw, this spot really reminds me of home!" she exclaimed, taking a deep breath. The unmistaken scent of fresh plants filled her in, adding a pleased smile on her countenance.

"You sleep on grasses?" Nick tilted his head on her, confusion written on his face.

"Sometimes," Judy giggled, tossing her bag away. "I used to staring at the horizon until the sun vanished." the bunny explained, her eyes set on the cobalt sky.

"What a surprise," Nick grinned in amusement, his paw hung over his seat lifelessly. "We have a lot in common."

Another gust of autumn wind passed, and both enjoyed the breeze with their fur swaying softly.

"Look Nick!" Judy suddenly pointed up, her paw beckoning to a certain spot of cloud. "Doesn't that one look like grapes?"

Nick rose from his seat, to Judy's surprise, and he let his body fall next to her. He threw her a look which she could translate one as _you-have-problem-with-it?_ which her reply was only a wink.

"Grapes are not fluffy, Carrots." he stated as he made himself comfortable, his eyes following her paw. The fact was, he hadn't even looked at the said cloud.

"But the shape!" Judy insisted, keeping track of the cloud on her behalf, which had started to move slowly to the west.

"Hmm," Nick made a face, contemplating a little. But in the end, he shrugged. "I vote against it."

Judy let her paw fell on his face, the fox yelped in surprise, before crossing it on her chest.

"You're no fun." she chided.

"Why thank you Officer Toot-toot." Judy could swear the fox winked at her submissively. It was kind of adorable, for he had rarely displayed such expression.

"Speaking of clouds," Judy spoke, grabbing a pawful of grasses. "Does this have something with your absurd fondness of fluffy things?" she rolled over and now facing him.

"I never think that way," Nick answered with all honesty, scratching his chin subconsciously. He then started to reach out his paws to the sky, making a whine. "Clouds are out of reach. Unable to measure the fluffiness."

Judy tackled him, the way he acted made her sure he was definitely still a kit.

"Then be an astronaut." Judy said in between hysterical laugh.

"And leave you behind all the way alone?" Nick elbowed her side tenderly, offering her with a face adorned with cocky smirk. "Come on. I doubt you'll last a day."

"Sly fox." Judy laughed again. "I mean, let me know how fluffy they are, then come back here." her mind began to imagine how Nick looked in a space suit, which she found her frowning at the thought.

"Speak for yourself, Fluff." Nick gently pushed his finger on her forehead, right between her bunny ears.

"Am I fluffy?" Judy narrowed her eyes on him, recalling that he had indeed called her with the nickname more than once.

"Aside from your cottontail, I don't know." the fox tried his best to suppress an awful mischievous grin, to which he had failed miserably.

Judy stared blankly at him, the memory when he shamelessly groped Bellwether's wool on her office played deep down her brain.

She looked back at him, who was now looking at her expectantly.

"I know what you're thinking, and I advise you not to try." she warned him with finger pointing right on his snout.

Nick chuckled.

"I won't, I won't." he promised with another set of playful grin. "But sometimes, I'm just _wondering_."

Inappropriate as it, Judy let a series of giggles echoing the valley.


	11. Cupid

The deserted target range was completely forsaken. Since it was located underground of ZPD Department (mostly in order to repel the loud and noisy sound provided by shooting practice), fairly almost no one visited other than those who were up to loosen stiff muscles. Most Officers believed that getting to fire their guns helped to clear clouded mind after full day of troubles, but since there were other options to relax, the target range was given less credit.

There were a variety set of arsenals ; their common hand taser, long range sniper, heavy gun set designed for bulky mammals like Officer McHorn, some set of paralyzing pistols, and even traditional weapons like spears, katanas and bows resting on each different racks. Much to everyone surprise, someone actually handled the maintenance of every single thing here, so everything was on their good shape.

A certain merry bunny was engaged with interest on the racks with the old style weapon. Judy loved sharpshooting, and bows had been one of her favorites during her early years. What she loved more was when she wasn't alone on her practice, for there was another mammal with far less amusement at the room.

Nick wobbled to the other side of the lane, grouchy and sulky, with two apples in his respective paws. He had interest to dispose one of them to his hungry stomach, but Judy did not look appealed on the idea. At the very least, he was free to devour both after her practice session.

"You sure about this?" Nick grumbled aloud, the soundproof walls provided no resonance of his protest.

"Yep," Judy replied with slightly louder voice. "Even if I happen to miss, you won't die," the bunny had her paws on her hips when Nick glanced back, confidence clearly painted her face. "But worry not, since I won't." her last statement compelled Nick to chuckle.

"I'm so excited now." Nick rolled his eyes sarcastically, juggling the apple before he stopped on the red line and spun backward. Setting one of the fruit carefully on his head, right between his ears, he steadied himself so that the apple wouldn't slip and fall, and the other apple was tossed carefully out of the line. After he was certain, the fox gave a quick thumb up to his partner while maintaining his balance as best as he could.

Doing nothing was definitely not on his favorite list of hobbies, but at least he could practice his own not-very-well-patience. Two birds in one stone, like people said. He chewed inside his mouth, stifling a chuckle on the thought. One single move would just ruin her moment _and_ his already depleting limit of patience which had started to grow in fear of Judy performed a wrong shot. The practice arrowheads weren't made of steel, but rather, a red rubber that would cease the movement of the arrow once it landed.

Still, getting shot with rubber arrow was not less threatening.

At the other side of the lane, Judy didn't waste her time either. Seconds after Nick gave the signal, she drew her bow and latched her arrow, aiming with one squinting eye to the poor apple. She had let the quiver rested safely on her back.

"Get ready!" she yelled as she let the arrow pierced through the wind. Swiftly, she pulled another arrow and made a quick aim before shooting her second arrow.

Nick's eyes widened when he found out the approaching blur of arrow was below his eyesight, an indication she failed to lock on the apple. Before he could even move, the arrow hit him straight at his chest.

One arrow never weighed more than a pencil, but given the velocity, the momentum sent the fox stumbled backward. He lost his balance and the apple rolled over his snout before doing a free fall, the fox clumsily fell on his rump.

In a flash, another arrow was coming right after, aimed less lower and somehow perfectly hit the fruit mid-air. The apple was then sent by the force, stumbling backward and ungracefully hit Nick's forehead.

Judy, with glory and pride filling her heart, making her way to her partner. The whole commotion was against Nick's favor of course, but she assumed he would just be fine with it. Right now, the said vulpine was rubbing his head in slight annoyance.

"See?" Judy held a very arrogant smirk, holding the bow like a harp and strummed the 'cord'.

"You aim at me on purpose!" Nick looked up, whining and pointing the arrow at his chest. The fox grabbed it with both paw and made another whine as he pretended in trying hard taking off the arrow. He didn't even take a single second to appreciate Judy's wonderful shots.

"Well, in my honest opinion, getting a mark on shooting a falling object proves that you're an excellent marksman." Judy offered a paw to help him up, which was taken reluctantly by the grumbling vixen. He eyed the triumphant bunny with slight interest, and his eyes caught a very peculiar accessories on her head.

"And what's with that ridiculous thing above your bunny head?" the thing on Nick's concern was a yellow circle resembling halo, with thin wire holding it up. "Going to afterlife after killing your partner?" he stood up, chuckling at his words.

"I'm a cupid, you idiot," Judy pointed out, drawing another arrow. "And to whom should I let my second arrow fall?" she cooed softly, looking right on Nick's eyes with her ears splayed on both side of her cheeks. The fox uncomfortably covered his snout as he shifted his glance.

 _Almost blurting out the c-word_ , he thought.

Seeing that Nick didn't present her a name, she made a mocking laugh. "Let me guess, the fox on your past?"

Nick wasn't that stupid not to have a knowledge of Cupid. He figured out Judy would like to perform as a Cupid, trying to pair him with someone to fall in love with.

And for every love in the air, he would certainly get a payback on this ; his wit had come up with a wicked plan.

"Pass." Nick shrugged, the mention of his former crush left a distaste in his mouth.

"Hmm, or should I pair you with anyone I care to see fit your soul?" Judy challenged, pushing the arrow on his chest forcefully.

"You're nerd," Nick laughed, fascinated by her play. "And go on, that ain't work anyway." he challenged her back, a paw waving dismissively following with a self-contented smirk.

"So, who's the lucky person?" Judy decided to pry him further, her ears perked up in curiosity

"No one." Nick replied flatly, examining his body and claw with bored expression. He let out a loud yawn, showing his best row of fangs.

But Judy was adamant.

"The deity of love demands answer." she straightened up, her finger thrust against his chest .

"Carrots, you're starting to creep me out," Nick gently pushed her back. With one paw, he took off the arrow from his chest with a 'plop' sound. The fox then lowered his gaze and met with her eye level, whispering.

"As long as you're the cupid, you won't find it."

He handed the baffled bunny the arrow, grabbing one of the apples, walking away from her and munching his treat with a happy whistle. He was actually making a safe escape from the impending outburst he expected to happen.

It took a moment for Judy to work out the said statement. By the time she made it out, her ears burnt scarlet and Nick was nowhere in sight

"You sick fox! Come back here you filthy vixen!"


	12. More

A/N : Thank you all for the reviews! You kind of giving me spirit here. And good news, I'm about to work on an average project – namely trilogy of these duo! I'll pass the info once I'm good with the start

* * *

"Ow ow, careful with the alcohol!"

"Sorry!"

Judy had bandage, gauzes, a bottle of antiseptic and alcohol, a strip of painkiller, when all the stuffs were coming _only_ after Nick grazed his elbow against the rough sidewalk as the result of stumbling out of the way to save himself from getting crushed by a van. Judy had suspected the driver was drunk, and indeed, the pale badger inside the van hitched when the rabbit inspected the car. He didn't even pay a heed when Judy called over the dispatch to inform the accident and stated he would be suspended over driving in the upcoming months.

All in all, Nick's wound wasn't that worse. But it wouldn't stop the rabbit so worked up to fix it.

"There." she finished up, giving a gentle pat at the treated injury. Nick peered at the bundled bandage, narrowing his eyes.

"Do I need stitches?" he mused thoughtfully, not so impressing on Judy when she spotted his curled smirk.

"Welllll, to stitch that noisy muzzle will work, surely." Judy claimed, having to lightly prodded the side of his snout.

"Even when stitched, it never shuts." Nick replied while sticking his tongue out.

"And why would it?" Judy inquired. They knew well this one would be interesting.

"Because you're present. And I like you." Nick had a deliberate pause between the sentence, throwing a charming smile. If Judy were yet to know him, she would just melt under the sight of it.

"Oh really? I think I like you more…" she cooed softly, her paws clutching on her thigh.

"I like you even more." Nick calmly countered.

"I like you even more _better_." Judy persisted.

"Are we going competitive?" Nick swore he never had enough days with his Carrots, knowing that one of these jesting would raise one way around. "Because I know I'm going to win." he took a moment to snap his finger, and the gesture served as a switch that shifted his calm countenance into an evil yet playful grin.

"It's a battle of wits, sweetheart." Judy rebuked with a soft tap on his chest, the fox chuckled in response.

"Awww, I'm so _touched_." Nick rolled his eyes, but eventually couldn't hold himself from laughing, which was then followed by Judy's thunderous laugh at his best choice of pun.

"Not when I tell you I like you hundred more times." Judy held her finger on air after recovering from her laugh, almost making a 'tsk-tsk' gesture.

"Hundreds? Well, I'm quite sure it's thousands on me-" Nick swiftly fought back but was cut short.

"Millions-

"Billions-

"Alright, but quantity won't win over quality." Judy let a soft scowl, the gear of her mind rattled hard in search of way to oversee her partner's unquestionable wit.

"And what this quality you talk about, honey?" Nick pursued her, and found a smile crept on his face when he was certain he had her cornered.

"Sweet talk, but no feels." Judy shrugged casually, a flat face rendered the fox unable to read her expression.

"I can _show_ you some." Nick carefully whispered, with every of the words pronounced in heartbeat pattern.

Just when she realized Nick had closed in, she giggled and pushed the incoming snout.

"There's no display of affection. That's the rule," the rabbit warned, her other paw reaching out one of her stuffed toys. She held it behind her back with an admonishing look piercing against the unemotional eyes of her partner. "We fight with words." Judy winked afterward, a non-verbal saying that when someone went out the line, the poor doll would deliver the justice.

Nick groaned, both inwardly and explicitly. "Just when I am about to win…"

"That won't be easy, slick." Judy stifled a chuckle. Her other free paw rested on his paw. "Love you."

Under any circumstances, Nick would just stiffen and skipped a heartbeat. But since this was another series of their regular stupid exchange, he wouldn't mind with some ascending word.

"Love you too." he slid his paw off from Judy's grasp, putting it over her.

"Love you greater." Judy's paw went exactly the same, competing one another of who would be on top.

"Much better."

"My love for you is like stars in the sky."

"Oh here comes the metaphors…" Nick sighed, deadpanning with his free paw covering his eyes. A wide grin came afterward.

"You won't count on stars, will you?" Judy held her paw triumphantly, the fox didn't budge and seemed to admit his defeat. She pressed on it, with Nick working out for anything to stupefy the overproud bunny.

"Fairly straight, if _that_ is required to testify your fondness on me…" Nick let his paw roam over his head, brushing all over his forehead before settling it right above her paw. "That can be arranged." he simply smiled at the astonished rabbit over two facts ; Nick did not know when to quit and her paw was literally sandwiched between his.

If this were a romance movie, she would definitely fall for him.

"I'm not done yet." Judy was also far from giving up. She waved her last free paw on him, the face she had on the first time she hustled him was now displayed again.

At that moment, Nick knew he lose.

Settling her paw over their piling paws, Judy gave the fox last look of a hustler, her ears drooped slightly forward. "You can say whatever you like, but my soul is infatuated on your charm."

Amethyst met emerald, and Nick broke the trance.

"You're _insane_."

And that was the only thing needed for them to break the stacked paws and burst into hysterical yet hearty laugh, rolling over the carpet and scattering away the set of medicines.

They had just regained their sane back before another exchange of look, Nick's failed attempt to hold a 'pff', and went onto second waves of laughter, Nick banging the floor relentlessly and Judy fought back tears on the corner of her eyes.

Recovering from their screwy humors, silence took up on the hiccupping duo. Warmth surged inside their respective soul and mind, settling another day in their calendar registered in memory.

There was a rude knock on the wall. Both of them blinked when certain male oryx's amused voice came up.

"So, who's the winner?"


	13. Awry

A/N : I may have crossed the line on the last chapter (heh), but no. To me personally, it's still considered as friendship, Idk about you guys. Just like the last part when Nick quipped Judy with love hustle, you are free to interpret. And, I see the description stated _mostly_ and not _all_ *wink* anyway, I hope all of you enjoy your visit here!

 _Twitch._

 _Twitch._

 _Twitch._

And a sound of distressed hiss.

"Can you please stop that?!" Judy nearly screamed in irritation. The seat she practically shared with her partner didn't benefit her quite well with the latter constantly thrashing around with his puffy furry tail.

"Stop what?" Nick asked without moving his eyes. He was absorbed with what Judy had been working, for at least in the past 3 hours straight. Arms lazily rested on the desk supporting the even lazier head full of prankish ideas to execute, he cleared his throat. "That thing, has its own mind," he sat straight, both paws in the air now. The fox leered over his gleeful wagging tail, implicitly showing his point. "Look."

Judy sighed, scratching the back of her pen on her forehead. "That's not how internal body coordination works, Nick." she had never been this itched of him, but for now tons of deals needed to be done and she did not want an _annoying_ company.

"Alright, you score on that," Nick reluctantly conceded. But Judy had the strong feeling that Nick was still keen in deflating her determination.

"And what's so troubling my doe, I would like to know." Nick rested his chin on his paw, glancing with a very amused look.

 _For every second passes, this grumpy bunny had resolved some insatiable hunger over adorable supplies,_ he let a smirk rise when the thought strike.

"This," Judy gave both of her paws on the papers. "…things are far from done, it's almost time to go home but the clock seems to tick even slower…" she glanced at the clock furiously, before shifting her gaze and glared right on the satisfied emerald eyes. "… and you ain't helping at all!"

"My distinct sense of smell tells me there's more than that." was Nick's quick reply. He had to admit, he would make sure to grasp a moment when he found Judy actually having trouble in dealing matters ; she was usually so organized, so calm and so energetic.

This was one against thousands, Nick noted.

"Yeah, another one like this slick fox keeps barging me with question." Judy shot as she continued her scribbling, each words written felt like it could rip the paper on how much pressure she applied.

"Fine, I'll shut up." Nick said, shrugging. He glanced away from the bunny, getting his mind off by scrolling his phone. Nothing would amuse him more than his precious partner, and Nick wasn't going to change that.

The silence hung only for a good 3 minutes before Judy pushed him hard.

"You _ain't_ helping that way, either." Judy scowled, but held back a giggle when the fox landed right on his face with a loud thud.

"Shall I sign my early exit?" Nick grumpily shook his head while rubbing his snout. He climbed back on the chair and found Judy already went focus on her task

"No." Judy simply replied.

"And here I am, with every wrongs seeped down in my blood, I go awry." Nick, in feigned hurtful look, solemnly intonated with punctuation on every pause. Judy wasn't fazed to look at him, so the play of emotions went zero. But certainly, her ears twitched and perking up in surprise.

There was warmth flooding inside the rabbit, and how much she appreciated his countless efforts in making her feel better. Under normal situations, she would just laugh and tackled him in playful manner, but this was not one of the times.

"The last thing I want is for my partner to stop pestering me, but today I make an exception." Judy forced a smile – hell, even without her trying to, she was aware sooner or later she would – and threw him an appreciating smile.

"Good thing to hear," Nick saluted and hopped off the chair, heading to the door. "See ya later Fluff." he waved without glancing back.

"Who says you can leave?"

Nick had known Judy for months, and he thought he had captured every single possible countenances and emotions the bunny could offer.

But not this cold, icy, impassive yet very composed and well toned whisper.

"Uhh… me?" he meekly pointing his snout, making three step back.

"Stay," she pointed a chair next to her, denying any possibility to huddle together again. "And move an inch, I swear for my life you're going to see a mug flying." with her left paw setting back the ceramic mug – actually slamming it on the table – and she made clear every of her words, silence went back covering the suddenly chill room.

 _What am I getting into?_

Nick's bemuse abruptly paused with a life threatening glare.


	14. Home

"What do you think?"

Nick spent his early night on Judy's apartment, they both agreed to watch some movie on her laptop. When the credits started to roll, Nick went to an after-movie talk, which normally would be their comments of the said film.

Judy usually would beam first whenever she found the movie enjoyable, and couldn't stop on her barrage of exclamation on the parts she loved the most, while Nick only nodded in agreement or narrowed his eyes when he didn't feel the same way.

But Judy was silent, even that her eyes was clearly on the screen.

"Carrots?" he poked the bunny's shoulder carefully, the gentle tap forcing the doe out of any of her troubling mind. She coughed faintly, blinking her eyes once she realized she had been in trance for a while.

"Uhm…" Judy lost her words, sheepishly facing the fox with soft chuckle. "Sorry, what was that before?"

"I must withdraw my earlier question and substitute it with proper one," Nick's voice somewhat softened, his arms crossed. He looked at her with genuine worry. "What were you thinking?" the fox asked while leveling his gaze on hers.

"Nothing in particular." Judy tucked her paws close on her shirt, throwing her eyes away from the concerned fox.

"Facing fox needs honesty, dear." despite his growing anxiety, Nick managed to pull a string of amusing line. It helped, with Judy smiled knowingly at him.

"Sharp as always," Judy rubbed her arms and sighed. She was aware that she couldn't escape Nick's incisive sense. "But believe me, I don't know either." while saying so, Judy's paw roamed along her ears. The movement seemed so lifeless, even Nick could feel it.

He suppressed his own will to remark, letting enough space for Judy to make clear her concern. Following after, Judy let another sigh.

"Maybe I'm just missing home…" she muttered, eyes droopy in mental exhaustion.

Upon hearing that, Nick's heart sunk with his ears fell flat. For over twenty years, he dedicated himself as solitary mammal, excluding from the fluctuating society. He learnt that there were still many who saw foxes as just literal thieves, scoundrel and untrustworthy. He had let go what people called as attachments.

But seeing Judy's sudden breakdown with family concern, he couldn't help but frown. He never knew how it felt to have family, since his dad had passed away when he was seven, and his mom about four years following. His heart told him to cheer her up, but of course he understood that was matter he was incapable of doing.

The vulpine sighed and took a seat next to her, one arm patting her shoulder with supporting squeeze.

"I suggest you to go." Nick said, his warm breath brushed on her cheek furs. That shook her from her trail of thought and just now she realized there was almost no gap between them.

Neither actually minded.

"This is Thursday Nick, for your information." Judy tilted her face, the floppy ears stranded right on his snout. He playfully snorted and grinned mischievously.

"Call sick for tomorrow so you can take night train," he raised one finger between their eyes, before adding another two as he continued. "You'll have three days to spend."

"And how am I supposed to convince our Chief Bogo that I'm sick?" Judy commented against the proposed idea. That wouldn't feel a good one to simply pass a lie to her superior, especially that tempered one.

Nick chuckled at her opposing reply. "Well, they call it _homesick_ so technically you aren't wrong." he looked down on her and got puffed cheeks as her answer.

At least their small talk lightened her mood. She unconsciously tilted her head much further and ended up resting on Nick's shoulder. The fox didn't miss the sudden weight, but he paid no mind.

"It feels wrong though." she suddenly spoke, her eyes went blank through the window.

"For what?" Nick whispered back in puzzlement.

"Leaving for a while…" Judy restrained another sigh. She must've looked like a whining kit if she kept pushing her trouble with forced breath.

On the other way around, Nick smugly smirked. He wrapped his tail on her waist, the tail vibrating in glee.

"Hey, you aren't just thinking you're gonna miss this gruesome fox while you're away, huh?" he winked when Judy's amethyst eyes met with his.

That hit her, and she giggled while pushing the tail away.

"Now that you mention it I ought to put in on account," Judy mused, then she tapped her paw at her chin, thinking for a proper counter.

"Won't you miss me?" she finally asked, the question held an unknown ardor. Nick found himself doubting his answer.

"Three days, 72 hours," he managed to reply with unfazed expression. "It's not like eternity." he hurriedly added along with additional chuckle.

"You want to come along?" Judy suddenly asked. She was surprised the question flew easily, and even more surprised that she actually let it out without even thinking about it.

"Nah," Nick shook his head rather than shrugging, he didn't want to bother the bunny. "Maybe another day."

"And when will it be?" Judy continued, her paws made a circling motion. Dragging her partner around was one thing, but to Bunnyburrow? She couldn't even imagine what her siblings and her parents would do, but somehow it didn't stop her for asking him.

Nick's face fell. Was she insisting him to pay a visit to her hometown?

"Well, when I feel like I want to nag around you anytime anywhere?" the evident uncertainty lingered in each of his words, and he flinched internally. But Judy was bothered more on his last two words. If he were to go with _forever_ instead, she wouldn't want to think how awkward it sounded even more.

Contemplating with her mind, she chose to let it slip.

"That… does sound weird." Judy admitted.

"I was about to question myself as well." Nick had to agree. If only words could be retracted…

"No, Nick," Judy broke the silence as she sat straight. He looked at her quizzically, as if requesting an enlightenment. She laughed and swatted his snout tenderly. "I think I can manage for another month."

"Sudden change of heart?" Nick narrowed his eyebrow. His eyes were still full of worry, but seeing his partner went over it had lifted the stony feeling in his heart.

"I'm out of answer." Judy shrugged, and Nick considered it that she wouldn't want to talk about it more or less.

"I define it questionable, but not that it matter anymore," he nodded at her, accepting the message. But his self restrain of quipping remarks failed to comply. "But we can make you feel home."

That wasn't what Judy would like to hear, but it did result with her curling a smirk.

"Since when you become this sweet?" she playfully rested her head again, this time consciously, on his shoulder for a while.

"I don't let that side of me show often," he glanced down and spotted the bunny's smirk. He wouldn't lose that. "But this helpless bunny needs him, so meet this Nicholas P. Wilde!"

She jabbed his hips with enough force to push him away, the vulpine winced in pain. But that only offered her a moment to laugh, which she knew Nick would follow right after.

This was her apartment, and home wasn't all about four walls and a ceiling.

On her record, at least, she had Nick.


	15. Ink

Back in another regular day on office, Nick and Judy had to spend their time in the prisoner.

To be exact, prisoner of boredom.

That being said, they had particularly nothing to do after finishing up their paperwork and it was still 1 AM. The duo even agreed to do little clean up of the cubicle room, sweeping the collected dusts over the corner of the room, sorting the documents, and even tidying up everyone's table.

Even with the given benevolence, the pair actually worked too diligently as the time only passed only an hour. They decided to just _wait._

"As much as I hate walking all over Zootopia, doing nothing definitely is worse." Nick commented with a loud groan, boredom finally overtook his cool. Judy would have agreed and she indeed shared the feeling, but for the record, she had better self-control rather than the sulky fox.

"Stop crying and make yourself useful." she chided without looking at the annoyed fox, her eyes and paws were on the leftover paper she had on her table. Nick snorted and rolled his eyes.

"And what does scribbling utter abstract have to do with _being useful?_ " he pointed at the bunny along with the work she had been doing for a while, consisting of unknown lines and streaks of blue marker she found and claimed as her treasure during their cleaning time.

"At least I'm not whining like a baby." Judy crossed her arms, her rolling chair spun and she looked straight at the vulpine, directing the marker as if she would throw it on cue.

"Suuureee." Nick went back to his phone, trying to draw his attention away while hoping the alarm would soon ring.

Judy observed him with less pleasure, sighing and going back to her way to kill time.

Then, as quick as lightning flash, her mind offered an idea.

"Wait," Judy out of sudden spoke, with Nick curiously leered at her."There's something on your face." she tapped her own cheek to mention.

"Realllyyyy?" Nick drawled again, his paws roaming his snout having himself assured to handle it by his own because Judy must be up of something. He curled his lips into a smirk. "I've seen much cheesy romantic movie and I bet you're about to peck me."

"If you want it badly, I won't mind," Judy grinned as well. She pushed herself with a kick on her desk, the force sent the rolling chair on the opposite direction and she bumped with him. "But I'm being honest now, so come." without waiting his response, she yanked his glorious tie with her other paw hidden behind her back.

"Ouch ouch." Nick squealed in protest, but didn't hold firm. He permitted the bunny to take care on his facial problem – if he got one, which he was still unsure - and by doing so, he was forced to hold a purr because the way Judy caressed his snout was way so much satisfying. He eventually shut his eyes and leaned further.

Judy, on the other hand, giggled softly and deep down wondered how easy for the fox to fall in her scheme. Right now, her left paw was squirming in excitement, wanting to surprise him sooner. In the end, she enjoyed how his fur ruffled against her soft pad for another minutes.

"There you go…" she pulled her paw off, grinning. Just as Nick opened his eyes and about to appreciate, his snout met with a crumpled paper. What made it horrible, the paper was _wet_ , and the acrid scent of fresh ink pierced his nostril. He shook the paper away in agony but to no avail ; the strong smell remained.

Nick didn't have time to find a way to express his current awful state, because his partner was laughing hard on the floor and timely pointing his face. He wouldn't even waste his time to imagine her terrible drawing right now was planted right on his usually handsome face.

Judy forced herself to stop guffawing, and it was the right decision because Nick now was glaring dagger at her, of course in playful manner. She chuckled and started to sprint away.

"You'll pay, Toot-toot!" Nick followed her after snatching the marker she previously used. Judy ran around the vast room while laughing all the way, sneaking glance on her irritated pursuer.

"Noooo," she exclaimed in made up horror, and made an act of reaching her radio. But the stuff she pulled was just a pen. "Officer Hopps to dispatch, I'm being chased by a loose fox! I need immediate assistance!" she kept her pace to keep the distance from the fox, and threw the pen on her back. It flew backward and hit Nick's nose, with him snarling in agitation by the lucky throw.

"You forgot to mention _handsome_ , Carrots." Nick shouted between his breath, trying to catch up his prey. Judy made it even difficult by pulling several chair to block his way.

"I'm going to admit you look good with that _tattoo_." Judy yelled back as she took a moment to spun on her heels and made a gun gesture while she mouthed 'bang!' before focusing back on her escape.

"And even more without it!" Nick replied loud enough for the bunny to hear. He was rewarded with a laugh, and luck seemed to bless him when Judy tripped on the pen she had thrown earlier.

Oh the irony.

Nick approached the fallen rabbit with a devious grin, his paw holding the marker so tight his claw almost pierced through it.

"Heh, seems like your fate ends here, bunny." he crouched down, and in a blink of eye, snatching both of her paws and held it in the air, while he used his weight to disable her feet. There was no way to escape for the poor bunny now.

"Mercy me, Mr. Fox…" Judy was out of option and the last card she had was for her to display her best puppy eye look. It seemed to work when Nick suddenly stopped, his eyes wide.

But it only _seemed_ to work.

Nick let a low howl of triumph as he assaulted her with the marker on her cheeks, the soft tip tickled her and she let loose a series of laughter, with her trying to squirm for freedom.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Judy protested with the fact that she only banged him with a paper with half-dry ink where he literally used the fresh ink to torture her beauty. But that fell to deaf ears as Nick mercilessly continuing his revenge.

When he finally scooted away, Judy was exhausted for _laughing_ too much. She inhaled in swift pattern, boosting her lungs with the lost oxygen.

"Let me remind you I'm an artist," Nick said between pant. He was spent up as well from the chase, and from the laugh. "I assure you I paint marvelous arts on that adorable face-" he blinked when Judy brought her paw to her face. "Hey, no touching it!"

But it was too late ; Judy had poked it, apparently the paw had been tinted blue. She winced internally knowing that the immense amount of the ink would ruin her fur sooner or later.

"This will take more to rinse…" she grumbled, and rose only to glare at the cocky fox with that _serve-you-well_ look.

Their moment was abruptly disturbed when heavy footsteps caught in Judy's hearing. Her ears shoot up, and she motioned Nick to quickly go back to their respective seat. Fortunately he didn't hold much grudge to deny her request and followed suit.

They sat straight and appeared to be slacking off, although with reversed role ; Nick drawing graffiti on spare paper, while Judy laughing on her phone screen.

It was what Chief Bogo saw when he swung the door open harshly. He was sure there was a chaos up here from the noise happened back then. But in his sight now, the two troublesome officers were particularly out of concern with them dealing with their own boredom. Officer Hopps had her ears down covering her cheeks while Officer Wilde's face brightened when he looked like he had finished his caricature.

Or maybe if Bogo hadn't missed the chairs which were considerably out of place, he would consider to switch to his speech mode.

Well, at least they seemed to already clear the paperworks, so he let it be.

The door was shut then, with Nick and Judy stared blankly at it. It was then when Nick rotated his chair, heaving a breath, and pinched both side of his cheeks with both paws along with tongue sticking out. The funny face proved to be effective against Judy's momentary self-restraint defense as she clutched her chest tightly and doubled over, falling from the chair with an even exploded laugh.


	16. Chocolate

A/N : I'm not feeling good today. I apologize, this won't be my best piece today, but I still hope you enjoy it.

 _And I'll have you know, I planned to write only about 600-words story but this and that happened. **Everytime**_

* * *

It was at the end of August. Most mammals tended to refill their supply for the upcoming month on the last weekend. And of course, the savior of Night Howler case, the rabbit officer, had planned to get her groceries as well.

Judy was now strolling with her trolley through the aisles. The Paw-C-Market offered numerous stuffs, and almost all she needed was here so this would always be her destination. To add another point, since it was Paw-C-Market, Judy didn't have to put her guard up for bigger mammals threat to crush her. Paw-C-Market was established for the general small size mammals, with Paw-B and Paw-A reserving middle-sized and large-sized ones.

She had one time to do shopping on a hypermarket, only to be irritated with the fact that it required the bunny to jump high just to pick the items she wanted. And that hadn't given any account of how many times she almost got stomped by the larger mammals like rhinos and elephants.

The Paw-C-Market itself was relatively crowded, but at least it was more comfortable. She spotted numerous badgers, weasels, otters, and…

Was it just her, or that red fox seemed so familiar?

The said mammal wasn't clad in his usual attire, but rather, a simple lime green polo and dark blue trouser. If he were Nick, Judy would say everything looked good on him. But to have her partner not in his regular outfit surprised the bunny.

She carefully approached the vulpine, who was leaning at the noodles section. He looked like he was searching for someone amidst the crowd.

"Nick?" she whispered in the way it would certainly be heard by the fox.

When he glanced at her direction, Judy blinked ; it was indeed Nick. Then came his reply, with a feigned terrified look.

"Oh boy, there's stuffed toy walking on its own!" he exclaimed and drew his paw up to his snout in his best way to look frightened.

"Nick!" Judy almost shouted in ire, the jokes never got old.

"Come on, let's get you back to your box." Nick walked to her and was about to guide her when she swatted the paw away with a snort.

"I plan to do so after picking my stuffs." Judy countered casually. Nick never calculated the possibility of Judy replying on his remark. He threw her a puzzled look, which she fumed as her answer.

"What? Don't you agree to call my tiny apartment a box?" Judy halted and gave an awkward stern to the fox.

Nick facepalmed, exhaling in mocking way. "Wow, I almost laugh," he managed to chuckle so he wasn't entirely lying. "Seriously Carrots, you have plain sense of humor."

"Whatever," Judy let it slip as she moved to the next section. "What are you doing here?" she brought up conversation, but upon realizing her question would only get _dumb bunny_ as the answer, she decided to go with different approach. "What are you planning to buy?"

"Nothing." Nick stated with a very confident tone.

"Then why are you here?" Judy narrowed her eyes, and made a mental note if somehow he replied with something like _window-shopping,_ she would knock him out. While chatting, she kept her focus in adding her monthly supplies to her trolley.

"To be honest, I want to get something. But I never say I plan to _buy_ it." the fox whispered the last line of his answer with very audible malicious intent. Judy felt something clicked in her.

"You're stealing?!" Judy blurted out with flabbergasted feature. A moment later, she had worn a challenging smirk. "Thieves, you are bold enough to face an extremely defiant police."

"Chill, Carrots." Nick waved his paw, dismissing the impending commotion. "You know what I'm really good at, right?" he winked, confidence still remained in his facial expression.

As his partner, Judy only needed to contemplate a little before figuring out what the fox intended to do.

 _Once hustler, forever hustler._

"So who's your target?" Judy inquired curiously. She wouldn't mind watching the fox in action because darn, he was really good at it.

"I was about to pick one when you come," Nick snorted and crossed his arms. Back then, he had decided the poor victim when Judy stepped in, and fortunately for the slim otter, Nick had lost his track. The fox scratched his chin briefly before throwing mischievous look on her. "And, here I found a really suitable prey for this cunning fox."

"Boast more, slick," Judy giggled, having to remind herself not to let his charm get in her. She stared back at him with pride in her amethyst eyes. "And let me tell you, I'm not going to fall for it."

"You should be a little considerate, Carrots," Nick grinned in amusement as he followed Judy turning to the snack section. "Having hustled twice by the most handsome fox in Zootopia would certainly be something to sell." he looked around and wasn't interested in anything.

"Yeah yeah," Judy muttered with bored expression, her elbow rested on the trolley handle. "Any more to say?" she threw some seaweed crackers and soft butter bread, piling up her trolley.

"Let's see-" Nick's eyes roamed around when the gear of his mind started to think, but any ongoing process abruptly came to halt when Nick spotted something.

It was a heart-shaped box with numerous chocolate balls in it.

He rushed to the sweet and was bewildered when there was only one left in the stock.

Judy watched the fox going in his childish mode ; dreamy eyes, paws held in air and balled in excitement, ears flickering constantly, and that tail slashing the air in random pattern.

She couldn't restrain a chuckle. Nick looked so cute at the moment, denying the fact that he was thirty already.

"Nah," Judy broke the stance with a huff. She pushed her trolley away, starting to leave the fox behind who appeared to be frozen in place. "If you want it that bad, I believe your money will worth it." she trotted to the another side of the section. It took her a good ten seconds before leaving her trolley and checking back.

Nick was still there, holding the box protectively so that no one would be able to get it. Judy sighed at the sight.

"Nick, don't play dumb-dumb. Be an adult and _take_ it to the cashier." she said, motioning him to follow her. Nick set the chocolate back to its shelf for a while and made a set of gesture on her ; softly poking both side of his trousers, making a 'X' motion with crossed arm, and paws rubbing his head.

"You seriously don't bring your wallet all the way here?" Judy concluded at his signal language, and when he nodded, she slapped her forehead.

"Che, what a coincidence," Nick smiled wryly. "And should you suspect me lying, you are free to check." he raised his paws up to convince her further.

"And strip you naked along the aisle? I don' think it's a good idea." Judy almost snorted, but her uncharacteristic retort sounded almost sensual she hoped no one heard.

Nick was, actually, taken aback and choked a breath. But he recomposed himself quickly.

"No, of course," he put up a nervous smile, as well as a set of pleading eyes. "But it's a noble idea to buy this poor vulpine this pack of chocolate." he pointed the box, which was already back in his paw for safety reason.

"Nick, last time I remember, canine doesn't eat chocolate." Judy crossed her arms. She couldn't believe she actually was arguing with her partner over something so trivial, like she was lecturing her kit.

"But but-"

"Nah no buts," Judy had it enough as she snapped her finger. That would be a sign whenever the rabbit didn't feel like to go along with the debate any longer. "I'm not going to take part in killing you earlier than your lifespan."

She walked back and thought that her shopping mood had become terribly disarranged. Noticing that no other footstep followed, she glanced back…

… only to see Nick with glazed and gloomy eyes, watching distantly at the package back in the shelf. He made a last longing look before letting out a sorrowful and depressed sigh.

That was it.

"Argh, alright alright geez," Judy stormed to him and snatched the chocolate from the place. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the fox brightened and beamed at her. "But promise me you'll live tomorrow." the doe warned, which had him nodding vigorously at it.

She fell for it, _again_. This time, the fox won because he really had outdone it.

"Yay, that's my Fluff!"

* * *

The next day, Nick called sick.

Not that Judy regretted, but in her opinion, he served it well. She chuckled as she fumbled on her phone to call him.

"You still alive?" she started. There was a low groan followed with a grunt as her reply.

 _"Heh, a man keeps his promise."_ Nick finally stuttered words.

"Happy with the chocolate?" Judy quipped, initially planned to sound furious but ended up with her giggling whenever she imagined sully and beaten Nick flopped on his couch.

When she only got another groan of protest, she continued. "I'll have you know, Nick. That ain't always work so you better be proud."

 _"My guilty pleasure,"_ happened to be his last line before he was out again.

Well, successfully hustled Judy and got a taste of sweet chocolate were seemingly _worth_ it, for now.


	17. Sun

"Look, a fox!"

Nick stared back at the source of voice, and found a group of mammals looking at him. He smiled at them and approached with a cheerful smile.

But when he got close, everyone snarled at him.

"Go away!"

"Just who do you think you are?"

"No one believes a fox."

"Liars!"

They laughed evilly _at_ him, with two of them throwing pebbles on him.

He fled and tears started to form in his eyes, but the humiliating laugh rang in the back of his mind. He screamed, running down the dark alley and tripped hard. He fell on his face, the smell of fresh blood invaded his nostrils.

He could only wail alone.

" _I'm a failure, just because I happen to be a fox…"_

A flash of light blinded him briefly, and he felt like sucked into a vortex of abyss.

When he regained his sense, he was back at the sky tram.

"Nick, you are so much more than that."

Soft pad tapped his arm, and the touch sent both chill and warmth over him. He was never appreciated, had never been complimented, and the emotions of his were sealed.

That day, he retrieved what had been sinking and had never been given to him ; faith.

"Nick, you are so much more than that."

He glanced sideway to meet the bunny officer, as well as the sun behind her which had started to ascend to the horizon.

"Nick…"

The voice kept coming.

"Nick…"

" _NICK!"_

The fox's eyes flew open with a startle, muscles flexing in uncomfortable way. He immediately sat straight and scrambled until his back bumped with the wall.

He was shaking, visibly shivering with dread crept deep inside. His sense couldn't make it clear what time it was, because he felt cold. Really cold. Icy, piercing chill spread all over his body with the feeling like neither his coat nor the blanket provided enough warmth. He was unaware either in the state beyond dream and reality.

He constrained to first clear his mind and focus on the surrounding. The first thing he saw was the figure of very familiar grey bunny with her droopy ears.

Wait, bunny? In his bedroom? On his bed?

"Carrots?!" Nick nearly shouted and shook his head in disbelief. While doing so, he tried to steady his breath, which up until now formed with only sharp inhale and quick exhale.

"For Heaven's sake, you keep mumbling utter nonsense…" Judy crawled closer, slow but firm. Nothing presented in her purple irises more than genuine worry. Her voice was shaken, and if Nick were sober enough, he wouldn't doubt she was holding tears.

"Another nightmare?" Judy let her paw fell on her thigh, watching intently on the vulpine.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Nick ran his paw over his head and shut his eyes, avoiding her concerned stare. Of course it failed, because when he lifted his eyelid, those pair of amethyst didn't budge.

He wouldn't want to let anyone, even Judy, to watch him on his worse state. Yet deep inside, all he ever wanted to mitigate the twisting feeling in his gut was here.

"I want to get you up for morning jog," Judy never left her eyes on his. A paw grazed gently along his snout, which was still quivering. Judy couldn't bear to see how depressed her partner was at the moment. "But when I knocked on your door, I heard your whispers and sobbing – and before you ask, these big ears are one hundred percent functioning." she chose to distract his thought by pulling a string of joke, hoping to soothe him in their usual way.

A smile was awarded, along with sheepish scratching the back of his head. Judy hummed a mellow tone, the emerald eyes in her sight brightened.

"Uh, but Carrots," Nick nervously swag his finger between them, inquiring the thin distance between them. "Awkward as it is, I think our position now is rather… ambiguous." he let what seemed to be a chuckle and a sigh coming together, and it sounded awful.

Judy sighed as well, stepping back to give him enough space. But she maintained the level of their eyes. "No Nick. While it's still fresh in mind, I won't be bothered if you need to relieve that dream of yours."

She hoped he didn't think she would expose his insecurity right away and pry it forcefully, but for every single dust in his room, she only wanted to help.

Nick went silent, so Judy let him be. She would just wait.

"It's…" Nick spoke finally, clutching his blanket tightly the tip of his claws found their way to penetrate the fabric. He lowered his head, inhaling deeply and subsequently exhaling with tingle of distress. Judy unconsciously covered her mouth with a paw, and the other squeezed his leg a little.

When he raised his head, a very obvious strained smile painted his miserable face. "This will sound cheesy, but won't you mind if I hug you?" he whispered while glancing away for a while.

In normal circumstance, she would certainly go over and over of how silly he sounded, and how cute he was when he got flustered. But right now, all she could offer was an approving tap on his stiff shoulder.

"Permission given."

Almost in a flash, Nick rushed forward and embraced the doe, being careful not to squeeze her out of air, but strong enough to give that vibe of safe and secure in his arms.

"Thank you, Carrots," Nick barely whispered. Judy comforted him further by rubbing his back. "It was… something dwelling in my past. Those memories… they scare me as hell…" his voice trembled, but then he sniffed and took a deep breath. "I thought I had gone over it, but they still surfaced. Back on the day I was hated, turned down, everyone despised my specimen, and when I decided to stay low and survive for over decades…"

He stiffened and Judy noticed the change. She tightened the embrace as a sign that she would not leave him.

"If fate chose not to bring us on that day, I couldn't see who I would be now." Nick was vibrating, and he whimpered softly.

That sounded so uncharacteristic, coming from a very snarky fox. But she heard it with heart, almost too genuine and unbearable for her. Judy pushed him with glassy eyes, giving a goofy grin.

"In all honesty, I hate to break the moment. But you need to stop rattling touching stuff," she let a honest laugh from heart. "At this rate I'm going to cry, you dork." she punched his chest lightly.

"So much for our emotional bunny." Nick chuckled and patted her forehead. The room felt warm and fresh, a huge turnover of what he experienced back then.

"If you feel like it, we can stroll to the downtown and grab some breakfast," Judy spoke and threw an inviting paw. "They say morning's fresh air is able to rejuvenate gloomy mood."

Nick checked his phone, and indeed, it was still 5:11 AM.

"That explains you're always jovial as it." he replied with his hustle smirk, and yawned afterward. Judy giggled at the series of teeth he was displaying.

"I'll wait outside," she opened the door cheerily , looked back at him and did her own hustling pose. "But you better hurry. We may have sunrise coming right on us."

As much as Nick hated metaphor, or poems, or whatever it was, he couldn't help but think that he had two suns in his life.

And he was about to meet them both.


	18. Umbrella

A/N : I'm sorry, I fell asleep when getting starting to write this one. Hopefully you won't mind for a short one – it's 2 AM here.

 _Edit_ : after the story was done, I started to less consider this was a short one. _Always happen._

* * *

She wanted to go home.

Her paw grazed the glass window, the sound of raging storm outside with occasional roaring thunder held her will. She never believed in weather forecast, but somehow she cursed herself for not at least taking it on account to bring an umbrella.

Right now Judy was stuck at nowhere else than the street library. It was only blocks away from her apartment, but the rain stretched the distance even farther.

Taking the moment to snap photos through the droplet of waters cascading the window, she thought of something. Then she opened her contact and in seconds already set her mind to text her partner.

 _"Nick,"_ Judy began tapping the screen quietly, with her mind wandered. She let her eyes witnessing the entire city getting poured by the immense amount of waters. _"Mind if you pay me a visit?"_ after sending the text, Judy subconsciously smiled. Nick wouldn't be asleep at this time, and to her best bet, hadn't gotten a dinner as well. She could make some when they got to her place later. Nick knew she was there, because she had mentioned before and asked him for company, to which for her disappointment, the fox turned down because of something said like he was afraid getting turned into a worm.

Her phone vibrated, and she quickly scrolled.

 _"I was waiting for you to ask that,"_ Nick's reply said. There was that sign of him still typing another text. _"Worry not. Be there in short, princess."_ and after certain pause, he added another line. _"Don't rush in, unless you want to spend your entire weekend on bed."_

Judy rolled her eyes, but was unsuccessful to hold a satisfied laugh.

 _"Can't wait, prince."_ she replied and shut her phone off.

* * *

"This is ridiculous." Judy protested. They were now side by side trotting on the sidewalk, the rain already subsided when Nick arrived but still nasty more or less to go without any coverage.

"Shouldn't it be _ridonculous?_ " Nick commented without moving his eyes. He watched the street lamp in interest with his paw holding the turquoise umbrella. "Or even better, _rain-on-call-us_." he grinned sideway, pronouncing the words as if an union of one.

Judy elbowed his side softly while letting appreciative smile crept on.

"These days the weather had never been good, and-" she went into blabbering state, but was forced to make a stop. She eyed the fox with slight annoyance, but much more delight. "My humble apology, dear prince, but could you please take it off?" the bunny shrugged her right shoulder, motioning his paw which had drummed there following the rhythm of the rain.

"I'm afraid when I do, you'll rush off and leave me behind." he wore a cocky smirk when the words were spoken.

"Then what's the point of you coming over?" Judy countered but let one of her paw stretched off from the umbrella's area of coverage, testing out the subsiding rain.

"I spend the day with my partner?" Nick offered with a subtle grin. That face was something Judy wouldn't have herself bored to look at.

"Not that you've had that enough for the weekdays." she swayed her ears at him, tickling his arm in the process. Nick snorted.

"Oooh, bear me, Carrots, but-"

Out of sudden, there was a truck going over eighty passed. Certainly, at this evening and in this atmosphere, the road was far less for what it called as busy street.

But the driver appeared to be oblivious of _puddles_ formed aftermath of rain.

The truck went over and to the pair's bad luck, drove straight through a big one. Nick instinctively tucked the doe in his arms as he crouched a little, a loud splashing sound and small whelp were all it needed for the night to regain its serenity.

"Sweet cheese and crackers…" Judy mumbled in between protective arms, watching her partner now was definitely all soaked.

"Well…" Nick handed her the umbrella. It was a bit oversized for rabbit, but Judy generally was tougher than any rabbits. "Seems like you'll hold this on your own." he chuckled as he let himself savoring the moment of contentedness feeling the waterdrop on his thick fur.

"And locking my fate to nurse some particular silly fox next day?" Judy said in disapproval as she held the umbrella in a certain position where both of them were covered, but was pushed away by the fox with a sly grin.

"Heh," he produced another chuckle. "I'm all wet now, so there's no point on umbrella," his mind clicked, and thus the rather delinquent remark was born. "Besides, I won't mind with a little _public shower_."

That got Judy deadpanned and made that absurd face.

"Don't blame me when you're going out of cold, slick." she proceeded to hold the umbrella on her way, but her eyes couldn't stop roaming of the sight of her drenched partner.

Well, manners be damned, Nick's face radiated tranquility and he was certainly appealing with his orange furs glistening.

"I have you to take care of it." the fox broke her reverie, and when he finally realized she was staring, he snapped a finger followed with a laugh.

It didn't sound teasing, but rather a sincere one.

That was then when the sound of upcoming vehicle disturbed both. Nick wouldn't mind to get splashed twice but Judy was fairly quicker to take action. She let a paw slip on his hip and pulled him, the vulpine gave a slight yelp when he tripped and fell backward on her grasp, while on her other paw, Judy brought the umbrella down on her front.

The passing vehicle horned what seemed like an apology one upon realizing there were streetwalker on the sidewalk but couldn't slow down so once again a puddle was splashed.

Of course with Judy's great timing, none of the waters made through them.

Well except from the rain, since the umbrella no longer protected them.

"That, my dear prince, is how to effectively utilize a shield," she winked at his stupefied face, patting his nose softly after she let the umbrella fell. She helped him to get to his feet and dusted her wet paws. "But fair is fair," she grabbed the umbrella but fumbled to close it, earning a questioning look and crossed arms from her company. "I'm a strong bunny, don't worry." The bunny ensured him with another wink, and Nick lost it. He let out a grudging scoff.

"And someone protested of my futile effort for the escort…"

"At least it wasn't as bad as when I texted you," Judy defended and held her paw to feel the dropping water. It was indeed getting calmer, for the waterdrops seemed less intense.

They walked side by side, enjoying the moment of quiet evening. Judy held her umbrella as if a cane.

"How about an umbrella dance?" she looked up on him, with Nick stared back with dumbfound look.

"You kidding me?" he chortled, his body vibrating in glee. "What kind of dance is that?" he quipped but stopped when she halted as well.

"Nevermind, we're here." Judy let the topic blew away and rummaging for her key.

"Carrots," Nick spoke up with a blank look, which then shifted into wry smile. "Requesting defensive stance."

It took her a moment to understand, with Nick motioning his sloshed tail hung low on the ground. She giggled and opened her umbrella, setting it on the ground, and crouched behind it like a kit hid under a makeshift camp.

"Shield is on, Captain!" she thumbed up.

Nick chuckled as he shook himself violently, the water volleyed in every direction. He would need a fur dryer, but of course he wouldn't step in Judy's apartment all wet so he did what he could do to lessen the amount of dampness on him.

Judy peeked from the umbrella and found a less soggy fox but with majority of his furs standing up. Nick spotted him leering over and waved, the sight of puffy vulpine sent the bunny laughing hard.


	19. Daisy

Taking a little vacation was nice, especially going outside the city. Judy voted her suggestion to go for a brand new amusement park at the border between Downtown and Rainforest District, only about eight minutes walk from the station. Nick, to her disappointment, disapproved as he promoted himself to be their guide to explore the latter district Judy had mentioned. The bunny reluctantly agreed but believed that Nick had better plan.

They were now having fun chatting on their way throughout the mushy district, seeking for an ideal place to settle their picnic set. It was then when finally Judy pointed on an open space under a massive oak tree. The average spot was shaded by the tree, covering them from the sun – where almost all the places in Rainforest District were canopied. Both of them began to unload their package and prepare for the lunch ; it was afternoon already and neither realized it.

"Mmm, I never consider eating outdoor is this blissful." Nick commented after gulping his first scoop of mac and cheese they brought from Judy's place.

"Me either," Judy nodded in agreement while taking a sip of her frosted coffee. "We should do this often." she suggested with an circling motion of paw, the fox snorting as his response.

"Yea, rather than continuously stuck with that lil burrow of yours." Nick provoked and gave a yelp when Judy hit him on his shoulder.

"Oh, I don't think it's worse than a much larger den but with everything in disarray?" Judy retaliated in horrified expression. Nick's apartment wasn't that bad, but whenever it came close to the end of month, she would rather spend her entire day in her closet rather than what he called as his apartment.

"Last time you pay a visit, I'm quite sure it's mildly neat and spacious." Nick said while puffing his chest proudly, treating him with the cheesy meal on his bowl.

"Nah, on rare occasion." Judy playfully retorted back.

They were savoring another spoonful of the treat when an eerie rustling sound caught in their hearing. Judy's ears went straight, and Nick rose in alarm. The quiet atmosphere abruptly took an opposite polar change. Both of them exchanged a glance, and nodded in unison.

"Wait." Nick whispered, beckoning the bunny to stay and he quietly tiptoed to the back of the tree. He was expecting a view of overgrown bushes and prepared for any worst possibilities, arms on fighting stance. But to his awe, he was rewarded with the sight heaps of white flowers adorning the vast lawn.

The colonies of daisies were dancing with the gusting wind, seemingly apprehensive of feeling an impending storm. Nick spotted someone and just then he realized that the rustling sound was coming from a little giraffe happily cutting the stems with little scissor she brought. She looked like she noticed the footstep and was surprised to see Nick gawking at her. Just as Nick about to wave at the little giraffe, she was already running away with her back on him.

 _Oh well_ , Nick bemused in between amusement of the scenery and the annoyance of the mammal's fear over him.

He scooted closer and bent down, admiring the plants as he tenderly plucked one and gave a whiff. This kind of flower didn't offer fragrance as its best feature, but plainly on its look. The vulpine gathered about four more before heading back to his settlement. He walked to the other side of the tree, and hoped Judy was still waiting at him from where he had gone.

The fox's intuition was impressive because Judy was indeed staring blankly to the spot where he stood before. He swiftly moved with silent steps and crouched on her back.

"Here." Nick handed out the flowers over her shoulder and snickered when Judy jumped in alarm. He was master of stealth, after all.

"Where did you get these?" Judy asked quizzically, taking the flowers safely. She held the flowers tight on her chest with her floppy ears perked up in excitement. Even her curiosity for the noise and her worry over him had long been gone.

"There are bunch of them. It won't hurt to take some," Nick thumbed behind him, specifically behind the massive tree. "And they complement you, to be honest." the vulpine leaned on the trunk with satisfied expression. Judy raised an eyebrow on that.

"In this era and still flatter a girl with flower?" she wryly smiled at him, but her face melted into a look of approval with a casual shrug. "I don't object it. It's romantic."

"Too bad you're partnered with both generous and romantic one." Nick humbly added as he sat down, munching back on his portion.

"Have you forgotten the _handsome_ part?!" Judy feigned a shocked expression as she covered her mouth with a paw, but as much as she restrained herself, a giggle escaped from her tiny lips.

"Good thing you remember. I was starting to worry my charm somehow starts to vanish away." Nick winked at her, but found that she was no longer looking at him.

Judy had been closely paying attention to her very gift, her paw carefully swoop the petals. A smile formed on her face, merry and delight emitted from her.

Well, to be fair, aside from his casual snarky yet amusing remarks or wistful puns, Nick scarcely put an effort to give her something nice. It wouldn't be surprising for the bunny to value any little presents given from him, especially the surprising one.

The said rabbit was lost in thought, but after a while she lifted her face and beamed on her suave partner, eyes closed in happiness and ears tilting sideway a bit.

"These are pretty, Nick. Thanks."

All of sudden, Nick felt his nose got itchy, and he scratched with the back of his paw, the spoon fell from his grip ungraciously, though neither of them cared. Unable to stare back at the now incredibly adorable bunny, he threw his face away. Fortunately Judy wasn't looking at him either and was absorbed to tend the plucked flowers, cherishing them with gentle heart.

The fox watched from the corner of his eyes, and in a flash, cursed himself for stealing a glance. That would be one of the time when he felt his face _burnt_.

"Nevermind."


	20. Protective

A/N : Strange. Last chapter was far different than any other ; it didn't hit the usual number. Well, that doesn't mean I stop writing though.

* * *

Saturday night came again, and though Nick tried to cover their dinner outside assuring her for his best pick of restaurant, Judy was firm to stick on her plan. The red fox had been quite a time with the bunny and understood that he had no place to object.

And there were they now, an almost emptied bowl of popcorn and the duo resting on the soft couch Nick bought a week ago, watching movie. And of course, Judy had the right to choose the one they would watch tonight.

Too bad, she picked up something not in her partner's favor.

Horror movie.

Not that he minded, but he sided with those who found no fun in watching a made-up eerie story consisting of endless screaming, numerous part of surprise that would almost stop his heartbeat, or any supernatural related bullshit. He wasn't afraid, but it felt just plainly odd.

Surprisingly, Judy seemed to enjoy the movie better than him, with the bowl of popcorn was at the whole time on her lap. Nick's gut swirled all the time so he refused the buttery treat.

It was past half of the movie and appeared to reach the climax. Nick tensed up and ears flattened whenever he watched the main actor gasped at dead-end and got cornered by the ugly butcher, meat cleaver slashing in the air. He bit his lower lip, unaware of something moving in sneaky way.

He almost jumped out his seat when Judy lightly squealed. The fox blinked many times, trying to put up his toughest face but did not succeed.

The sound coming from the electronic device lessened to almost barely audible, and only after that Nick realized he was holding a breath. He exhaled profusely.

"You okay there Nick?" Judy's voice came up, followed by a loud bang of the remote remorsefully hitting the table.

"Yeah." Nick quickly answered, having his gut feeling telling him constantly that Judy might end checking him up. He didn't think it was unnatural of him, well at least not that bad.

Unless…

"Um, I won't say this is uncomfortable, but…" Judy's words hung and Nick was forced to look at her. He followed her paw and furrowed his eyebrow when he saw his tail was on her lap. He wouldn't need to be a smarter fox to grasp the situation ; somehow he must have wrapped that part of his body on her.

"Whoops, my bad," Nick said in mixture of feigned astonishment and welling embarrassment. His tail jumped from the bunny and shifted to another side of the couch. "I'll make sure to scorn it later." the fox joked as he glanced to his fluffy tail and raised his paw, toying around on the act of lecturing it.

"Why not now?" Judy played along on his upcoming charade, reclining on the arm rest.

"We're enjoying movie?" Nick attempted and gave his signature smirk. Judy shook her head and mumbled _tsk-tsk_.

" _I am._ You're definitely not." she brought her finger to point his snout, Nick scoffing at it.

"I enjoy the company, not the movie?" the fox tried another with a feigned timid smile. That had Judy grumbled in protest but laughed afterward nonetheless.

"Slick Nick."

None of their eyes and mind settled on the television anymore, even the noisy screams and eerie soundtracks failed to faze both. Realizing that, Judy hopped off the couch, snatched the remote on the marble table and turned the TV off.

"Alright, I guess that's the end of our movie night." she hummed a tone and went back crashing the couch with a loud thud. Nick glanced at the wooden clock hung on his wall while mentally ensuring himself that his couch would survive the night.

"And what do you suggest? The night is still young." he inquired with his ears flickering in demand of answer.

"Talking?" Judy rolled and ended up next to him, her head resting on his lap as she started to type on her phone with paw gripping it firmly, preventing it to fall on her face. "I never cease to enjoy your smartass tirade."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Nick looked down and his gaze met with shimmering purples and a contented smile.

"It's all up to you," she rolled aside, their eye contact broke in instant. Judy carefully threw her phone to the remaining vacant space of the couch and giggled. "But I'm quite sure one thing ; your tail is cuddly."

Nick was musing, and when he dragged himself back to reality, Judy was hugging his tail and purring in delight. He smirked as the tail was pulled away from the bunny and held up on the air, a groan of protest came right away.

"Should I serve as your substitute pillow?" Nick said flatly, and while doing so, rolled his eyes at the sight of the bunny shot him a nasty look. He let his tail fell to Judy's arms once more, now hoping that both the couch _and_ his tail managed to live another day.

"Nah, this is enough," the doe cheerily replied, snuggling on the furry tail. Something nagged in her mind. "On second thought, tails can't bicker so you're in as well." Judy's lips went into a gleeful grin, with Nick smirked in advance.

Deep down, the vulpine hoped that Judy wouldn't push the topic back and distracting her with his own way was seemingly smooth. But just as he thought of it, Judy sat and already stared at him.

"Start talking?" she asked in exacting tone, Nick shuddered slightly on the authoritative pitch.

 _Luck wasn't on me_ , he inwardly sighed.

Once he somehow let an uncharacteristic behavior, Judy would never quit to pry it over and over. He knew it well enough.

"Honestly, I dunno," Nick chose to be honest. He let his paws went limp, as if submitting defeat. For the record, Judy had discovered many side of him that he had even forgotten ever exist in him. "Maybe my nature had preservative attribute and it suddenly kicked in?" he made a riddling chatter, planting a self-boasting smirk and brushing his chin in faking an act of dwelling in deep thought.

The theatrical display of her partner, although she sensed the a bit part of honesty in it, was enough to refute her suspicion. She laughed in appreciation and gave a thumb up.

"Don't worry Nick," she confidently assured, and even held her paw in air offering a high-five. "I'm in the safest place on earth."

Nick's smirk dropped, replaced by a terse pleased smile.

"Shouldn't that belong to Bunnyburrow?"

"No, it belongs to you _and_ me here."


	21. Jeopardy

A/N : Tomorrow I'll be off for full 16-hours on train, so I forwardly apologize if tomorrow's happen to slacken a bit. And if this story hits 2-digit favs, I might add a special chapter. You know, that kind of milestone awarding xD

* * *

The suspect had been apprehended.

It took heck of efforts to outwit the sneaky arctic fox armed with handgun. They came up with risky plan ; Judy trusted Nick with her tranquilizer so that she appeared to be unarmed. While she bluffed, Nick would sneak and pacify him. Nick heavily objected since that it set Judy on the dangerous one and offered substitute, but the plea fell to deaf ears as Judy already rushed down the hall.

Nick had to focus in following her scent, since that Judy was way faster than him. Of course he needed to move fast but ensure himself to make it quiet, knowing that vulpine generally had enhanced hearing, albeit not as good as bunnies.

He took a deep breath once the hall ended and split into two way of stairs. The fox hid behind the wall, sneaking a glance. He could see the culprit and his partner move in circle, attempting to take one another in surprise attack. The vulpine rummaged his pocket swiftly and took a coin. He tossed the coin up high then reached for his gun, readying himself.

Whenever Judy heard the clinging sound, she took a quick glance on the stairs and confirmed the next move. She stopped moving. It would of course rouse the culprit's suspicion since that the rabbit halted after looking at certain direction.

But that was what she needed.

Before the arctic fox could follow her gaze, in instant, her adrenaline kicked in as she made a flurry sprint, closed in a blur of grey and tackled the surprised culprit. Sure it wasn't enough to bring him down because of their size difference, but only because Judy didn't put her entire strength ; she was just the decoy and she wouldn't want to end up rolling together and losing Nick's chance to shoot. The thief countered, his claws lashing on her arms and threw her off. The bunny rolled and gracefully landed on her feet, cupping her bleeding arm but keep her fighting stance. Her eyes went wide when her opponent pulled the gun.

Just as the arctic fox aimed at her, a stinging pain on his knuckle rushed as he dropped the firearm, yelling in pain. Nick had shot his own gun in order to disarm him right at the moment. Before the culprit could recover, Nick brought his other paw holding the tranquilizer and growled in fury as he shot him thrice, making sure the dose brought the white fox down.

Nick leaped off from the stairs, which happened to be almost four meters high. He cared nothing but his partner. After properly cuffing the thief and secured the evidence, he went at her in brisk .

"You're hurt." Nick rushed to his vest, fished small first-aid kit, and hurriedly began to fix her wound. He ignored the stinging pain on his aching leg from crazily running non-stop on his toes to eliminate the stepping sound, and to add it, landing from the stupid fall he put himself into.

"I _live_." Judy strained to roll her eyes sarcastically, and let the quiet fox to tend her arm. Since that she couldn't look directly at his eyes, Judy was uncertain, but she knew Nick and she was sure he was panicking out.

"Nick, that's just a bruise." Judy said in flat expression, unaware of whether to put it on playful manner to light up the air or a feigned admonishment to get him quipping back at it. But his only reply was a light frown and his paws worked up to bandage her arms.

When he was done, a sigh escaped him and he brought his paws on her shoulder, stern look right on her eyes.

"Keep doing this and you won't make it alive." Nick shook her harshly, hoping for the words to strike through the back on her mind and be her forever reminder. But Judy kind of neglected the fact that the fox was worried sick and slapped his paw off.

"I won't worry much, because I have you and-"

" _I trust you?_ " Nick finished for her, hissing lowly. Judy was taken aback at his sudden change of behavior. "Aren't that basically your line?" he balled his fist, adding her bewilderment when he let out a vicious snarl. The vulpine cop hoped that he could bring up joyful memories in his mind to mend his emotional outburst, seeing that his partner became visibly uncomfortable because of him.

But he couldn't.

There was an uncomfortable feeling lingering inside. Be it anger, frustration, desperation, confusion, all mixed behind his already depleting limit of patience.

"You indeed trust me, but I don't trust myself! How can you be so careless?!" Nick blurted out, his arms thrown in the air. "If somehow… if I fail to comprehend the situation…" he couldn't bring himself to finish his statement ; he was broken already. He fell and landed on his rump, head hung low staring at the ground. "I don't want to imagine it…" he whispered, barely audible.

"Nick," Judy did what she could do to comfort him, rubbing her paw gently on his forearm. One thing she could never stand was seeing her partner broke down. "Nick, it's okay. I'm totally fine, see?" she offered a smile – both terribly knew it was a forced one – and when she thought that wasn't enough, the bunny hugged him. Nick sighed, feeling the indescribable internal struggle in him. He didn't even think to hug her back, his arms staying limp.

"Don't ever…" Nick began, bringing his paw on hers. "Don't ever jeopardize yourself. I have enough."

"We are walking on perilous way, Nick," Judy pulled back while giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, physically reminding him of their duty as police officers. "There's no going back on it."

"Try a little safer approach?" Nick made a whimper but quickly covered it with a small smile.

"No promise on that." Judy sighed.

"You like to _try everything,_ don't you?" Nick grazed the side of his snout tenderly, an unconscious act of lessening the growing desperation.

"I like _Try Everything_ ," Judy replied, mentioning the song title. She frowned at his troubled face, hoping that sooner or later Nick would joke of something to lighten their gloomy conversation. Well in fact she actually had pulled one, but there was no chuckle following her jest. "But my inner self agrees on that statement anyway, so yes."

Stillness. Cold silence.

"Then try," Nick warily said after swallowing a lump of uneasiness. "If it's not for you, then try. For me." he flinched when the words flung, especially the last two, sounded hopeless.

She clearly heard the cracked voice. Her ears flattened instantly, paws clutching her chest. That had her realizing that Nick had let his mask off, his usual confident and charming feature worn off, in spite of his self-blaming and protective nature over her safety.

Nick lived as solitary mammal for years, in almost all the time of his life managed to control his own emotion, _never let them see they got to you,_ and almost never failed. The fact that Judy herself broke the record meant a lot to Nick, that he, one who sworn to live in the low life just as how others see how foxes were, began to trust someone again.

Nick was capable to protect himself, avoiding harm in his ways. Call it selfish, but he survived.

Soon that he opened a path of friendship, or something more, whatever happened to Judy would affect him as well. That was something inevitable he couldn't deny, and more importantly, something he had no power over it.

He was no longer that perfect reinforced fox. A mere feeling changed it, breaking the impenetrable defense.

He couldn't bear to see if something happened to her.

"I'm sorry." Judy fought back her tears. She gently put her paw at his chin, lifting his face up, exposing his despair filled eyes. With a choked breath, the bunny hugged his neck, sobbing in his fur.

This time, Nick hugged back. He was certain he needed it.

"I'm sorry." Judy repeated over and over, and it ended when Nick hushed her softly. He brought her closer, arms wrapping and tail shielding.


	22. Outset

A/N : Just a quick writing. I need my sleep

* * *

"Why are you smiling like that?"

Judy had the urge to pounce at the now gleeful fox just to wipe that smile off his face. Grabbing light breakfast was her idea, but she began to regret the decision seeing the fox was up for something, definitely.

Nick chuckled while maintaining his charming smile. "Oh? Is smiling against the law nowadays, sweetheart?" the vulpine replied, his voice was surprisingly mellow and soothing. Judy could feel shiver run through her furs.

"Nope," she crossed her arms, fixing her eyes on him, attempting to see if she could get a tiny little hint of tricks he hid in his sleeves. "I just get this weird feeling."

"That's just your feeling." Nick's paw waved in disapproval. He watched Judy's expression fell and now her eyes pried over him from head to toes.

"Alright Mr. Fox, now you tell me something I need to know." she held her face with both paws, elbow rested on the table, never let their eye contact broke just a moment. Nick, on the other side, wouldn't want to let her win, so they were eyes to eyes.

"Wow, public interrogation. Just perfect to start my day." Nick flatly interjected without shifting his gaze away and scratched the side of his snout. He could hear his partner scoffed, but the demand of answer didn't cease. He sipped his coffee and put it back on the table.

"I'm just happy, you know. Hot coffee, bright day, blueberry muffins, and you by my side," he said flippantly, finding it difficult to hold a smirk at Judy's deadpan and her visible strained remark to correct him because right now she was sitting across him, and _not_ next to him. "And might be happier if this certain bunny can stop pestering and start smiling back." he quickly took another direction on their conversation, his smile never for once faltered.

Judy seemed to be convinced that Nick was actually meant no harm, so she exhaled and gave him her best smile.

"Happy?"

"Hmm, a kiss maybe?" Nick teasingly winked and scooted closer. Judy giggled as she planted a kiss on her paw, then gently patted the fox's forehead, delivering the not-so-called kiss.

"There. Happier?" the doe looked at him expectantly, the tip of her ears drooped just low.

"Much." Nick's smile grew way too much it started to form a toothy grin, one of Judy's favorite of him. "I think I don't hate Monday anymore."

"Is it so?" Judy inquired with feigned exasperated look, flipping her paw casually. "I still hate it, nonetheless."

"Including the fact that you'll get stuck with this awesome fox for the rest of weekdays?" Nick took his last bite of the muffin, munching happily in each exactly same flavor of blueberry.

"Nick," Judy stifled a laugh. "It happens even during weekend." she pointed out, to which Nick chuckled and chortled.

"I'm just too oblivious of it." Nick responded, taking a sip on his coffee. The remaining sweet taste in his jaw proved helpful to enhance the coffee to light him up.

He supposed he had too much sugary content today. Too bad he still had over sixteen hours to pass before he could call it a day.

"They say once you enjoy, you lost count of it." Judy quoted randomly. The last thing she expected was Nick's hearty laugh, but it somehow became her priority for the next day to start their early morning. She joined the laugh sooner.

"Couldn't agree more."


	23. Adjusting

Jazz music buzzed around the room, with small chit-chat of casual conversation around adding the warm atmosphere in the restaurant. Among them, the duo ZPD Officers, namely a red fox and a grey bunny, were spotted at the corner of the room.

Judy scanned the menus carefully, skimming the thin pages and mumbling to no one in particular. Across her, Nick didn't look interested. He made a quick glance on each pages, skipping to the next ones, and eventually closed the book. The fox's eyes landed on his partner, his chin rested on both of his paw, with elbows rooted on the table, and to add it, his hustle smirk was clear visible.

"Hmm…" Judy flipped back few pages and took a moment to glance the vulpine. "You first Nick?"

"Nope," Nick grinned. "Ladies first." Judy sarcastically rolled her eyes, and faced the waiter.

"Onion soup for me," she said and held her paw up. "With extra pepper."

"For _us_." Nick interjected with two digits went up. The waiter, a very patient-looking deer, had to cross the number and write the correct one.

No, scratch it, correct _two._

Nevermind.

"Beverages?" the deer asked in friendly tone.

"I'll just go with peach syrup." Judy stated on what she had decided before.

"Make it two." Nick calmly added. Judy eyed him with glint of disapproval within her purple eyes, the fox chuckled between his teeth.

"Would you mind for a side dish?" the waiter offered and his next word surprised both. "45% off for couple."

"Oh…" Judy muttered. First thing popped in her mind was to object the deer's point of view, but that wouldn't change anything anyway since she and Nick were the only two on the table and furthermore, the discount sounded nice.

"We get to choose different desert?" the bunny asked and glared across the table, not wanting Nick to simply change the quantity of her choice.

"I'm confident to recall I did say _a side dish_ ," the horned mammals chuckled in advance, but kept his friendly smile as to mean no offense. "So the answer is no. One for share."

"Very well," Judy inclined without protest, but that didn't cease her annoyed look on the now defensive fox, who held his arms in submission. "At least this lazy copycat can shut up," she gave the last glare before moving her eyes to back to the menus. "Vanilla ice cream with waffles. How's it for you?" the rabbit nodded her head toward the fox, Nick nodding vigorously in response. The deer then wrote it down and excused himself to place their order.

"That's an interesting mammal." Nick commented. The way that waiter countered Judy was brilliant, and he couldn't help but snicker at Judy's priceless face back then.

"Uh huh," Judy's eyes followed him, but in a flash gawked back directly on him. "Anyone who is authentic always offers different vibe on first glance," the doe held an offensive smirk before continuing. "Safe to say, it doesn't apply for a conviction-less fox who can only imitate his partner's order."

"Aww, do you get emotional for me to go along your taste?" Nick mocked back on his defense, getting another series of exasperated look from across the table. Judy chose to drop the matter and crossed her arms.

"Next time, you order _first_." she declared.

"Well, that way I can't practice to fit in." Nick shrugged nonchalantly. In his vision now, the bunny was looking curious.

 _Just as planned_ , he mused in amusement.

"Excuse me?" Judy brought her paw close to her ears, her common gesture to ask him repeating his words. Nick tilted his head on it but managed to drop the smirk and instead, wore a genuine smile.

"Since we're partner, I guess it's worth to understand your liking. Who knows I become fond of it." he rationalized confidently. Judy sighed at his poor explanation and pinched between her eyes.

"Please tell me this is not one of your stupid bet." she said expectantly, and his reply was quick as lightning.

"I assure you from my heart, no," the red fox said in assuring tone. He caught the deer walking toward them with tray of food and winked on the rabbit. "And enough with the chit-chat. Our food is coming."

Whenever their food had settled, the waiter had left after Nick tipped him, just as the fox reached for his spoon Judy's fork stabbed it on the place, a familiar clinging metallic sound rang.

"You don't lay a spoon until I make it clear," she inquired, her voice highly suggested for no objections and to better satisfy her question. If Nick hadn't known Judy, he would've gulped nervously.

"I guess curiosity can kill cat _and_ rabbit," Nick gave up and let off his paw from the spoon. Judy waited, her eyes fixated on his emerald ones.

"Alright. I suppose I'm just trying to make myself a better partner for you," he started, the beginning of his thorough explanation sounded cheesy, and was confirmed by the change of Judy's eyebrow, which had furrowed. Nick paid no mind and continued, his paws were brought together, fingers entwining each other. "Don't get me wrong, we have different taste since I'm pred and you're prey. But I have this feeling that I enjoy your cooking. It's just most of the times, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Judy took her time to summarize Nick's words. Was his intention purely to adjust himself for her sake?

Now that didn't sound like Nicholas Wilde.

"I always ask for your preference Nick," she shot back, pointing her fork at him. "Why would I make something out of your favor?"

"And doesn't that bother you?" Nick countered instantly, as if he had overseen Judy's incoming countermeasure. Just as the bunny was about to shake her head, Nick firmly held her in place with his finger on her forehead, his grin radiated his jovial mood. "Perhaps it'll be better for both of us if you can just let this fox try."

"Great," Judy exhaled and stabbed her fork in the soup. Her mind was so distracted she never questioned herself of why there was a fork when their food didn't even use one. The rabbit's eyelid went half closed and she began her rant. "And right after this, you're going to kneel down, proposing me with a diamond ring, and I'm going to wail and weep my eyes out, and months afterward we're getting married and all the bothers just so that I can cook for you without asking what you want and believe on my gut feeling?"

Nick's bark of laugh gave her the confirmation that she hit some points there.

"Someone's is eager," Nick wiped the tear off his eyes and threw her a fond look. "Even if it takes part in my calculation, that won't be arranged in quick succession."

"Ifs," Judy's amethyst irises glinted in what seemed to be mild interest. And only God and her knew, she couldn't bring up her uninterested face. The bunny grabbed his spoon, threw it lightly so that the fox could catch it, and took her own and began to dig in her soup. "Keep dreaming, slick. You'll have to do better than that to get me for your personal chef."

Nick's whole feature brightened just a moment. He whirled the spoon between his fingers skillfully, an expectant look brought up on his flat countenance. The fox beaming at her didn't escape the rabbit's notice, but right now she was way too focused to try wiping her own delighted smile.

"I wonder." he bemused, and without putting any worry scooped a spoon of the soup and swallowed.

What no one expected happened subsequently was the poor fox sneezing profusely.

The next thing he knew, he loathed onion soup. To be exact, that certain one with _extra_ pepper.


	24. 24

A/N : This chapter is the first without any conversation in it. Normally, whenever I draft the story, I always come up with the talk first, then adding small details and background. See if this one is good enough for you all xD

* * *

 _24 was Judy's age when she first met Nick._

She had thought that, at first, her life as her longing dream police officer was far from hope and expectation ; getting turned down, even after her whole months training and practicing, eventually becoming the valedictorian of the year. All those efforts and bloods and sweats, for a parking duty? The bunny never got a chance to protest, and was to comply more or less.

She would back then think and keep thinking that perhaps, bunnies weren't supposed to serve as the first guard line consisting of Zootopia's most trusted and talented police officers. At her age, Judy had gone through various things and matters on paw, to the point that her not-so-rough life taught her how life could mess with anyone and anything. And there she was, getting stuck with parking maid uniform out of her conviction to become real cop. At that day, Judy started to lose faith.

Little did she know, her first encounter with a certain red fox changed her whole mind.

Judy persisted that 24 was her golden age comparing to her past, with only ordinary life and no one to order around because her firm grip of weak point ; Nick still planted his grudging face whenever the matter was brought up, and ranted how their first meeting should've been nicer to recall.

Of course, no real grudge was shown, for Nick's account that the major part of him went liquidly happy going along with the memory.

Judy would insist 24 was her best, and forever go blockhead, at least until Nick joining the force proved herself wrong someday. She was certain with Nick had chosen the right path along with her, together they could make her 25 much better.

 _24, in their codes, reported a finished assignment._

Nick's pleasantly cocky voice would buzz '10-24' on her radio once their patrol ended with no particular crimes sighted, or that they had countered one and managed to subdue it. Since that Judy got the wheels, she usually just added in her own spiteful laugh whenever Nick brought the intercom to her. Though most of the times, the silly fox went overboard and shoved it to her face, hindering her vision over the windshield. She would playfully sneak her free paw – with the cost of the cruiser's balance with only one paw holding the steering wheel – and snatch the intercom, jamming it back to his snout featuring subtle grin and forcing the vulpine to retreat back to his seat.

Judy often wondered if the way they backed up each other proved to be effective, or somehow prevented their best performance to surface. Either way, Chief Bogo didn't seem to mind, or to Nick's bet, he had minded too much and that too much ultimately grew into that comical face emotion showing the obvious look of _thatsitImdonewiththisshit._

Believe it or not, Judy had lost count on how many times they had decided to violate rules in order to suspend the ongoing crime _creatively_. The first time they did it, Judy took a note and assured herself – not _themselves_ , Nick found it as guilty pleasure and wouldn't hesitate to make it hundreds – that they wouldn't dare to barge in before they could find out the best way.

And to Judy's both delight and utter perplexity, the best way would always have them to _overdo_ things. With Nick's unquestionable wit and her own less juridical point of view, the poor criminals against them were presented with bizarre tactics but worked miraculously.

 _24, as in split between 2 and 4, belonged respectively on them ; Judy got the 2, while 4 for Nick._

He had always gotten the best of her, she would honestly admit. And no, she never aimed to be the best officer in ZPD, but with Nick, there was that one peculiar objective she paid mind ; and that was to be the best team. Synchronizing perfectly with each other became their well-known trait among ZPD department, with less of them knowing what chaos happened during their usual patrol.

Judy was totally unaware that when at the past she was successful in landing a perfect hustle on him, it ought to be something she needed to boast around and hold her pride in it. Not every mammals could outwit her cunning partner, and for further note, Nick himself confessed that she had done it wonderfully with the fact that they had just met one day.

That was one of the moments the bunny could afford to score better than him.

 _24 stood for total hours in a day._

While regularly people divided 24 hours into 12 hours day and night, Judy liked to see it as 20 and 4 ; 20 for her up time and 4 for sleep. Of course, it could always vary, depending on the flow of her day.

One thing never changed was that majority of her time was accompanied by Nick, be it her 'day' time or 'night' time.

And rest assured, up until now, Judy barely felt that her day was just another similar day. She, along with Nick, would always fluctuate like rising waves in the sea. That was why their league hadn't for once degraded into boredom, but more to little fight between them.

Things worked like cogwheels. Whenever Judy or Nick found their banter rubbed the worst part of them, they would go into fight, usually with the offended one hopping off the cruiser in ire while the other chased and tried to mend the storming partner. Numerous time it did happen, but never that their arguing lasted a day. Why bother to stay resentful, when the next day, and the other day, and all the way toward weekend all they would see was the fascinating and irresistible vulpine or the enthusiastic and bright bunny? They had the mutual agreement, strangely never been put into oath but only with personal understanding, that supporting each other became their top priority when one was down, even when the cause was the other.

Because the day got really dull and tedious if one of them decided to shut up.

Whenever they weren't at work, either they visited one another, or simply texted out until drowsiness began to hit the nerve. Bucky and Pronk spent their night listening to the bunny's laugh, at first questioning her sanity and wondering. But no sooner that they understood they were _texting_ , the duo constantly began to swarm her with curiosity of the smartass jokes Nick had pulled when she barked the hysterical laugh.

Nick usually stayed up late, the trait of nocturnal mammal might have affected him, and Judy's company on his phone helped him to calm him down and have a better sleep. But on certain occasion, there were times when he carefully asked her out around 11 PM if she were still up for midnight snacks. He preferred to meet face to face rather than making a call. It was sort of questionable for the grey bunny, but she cared less to ask.

Toffee-24 served as their destination, the name obviously derived for their 24-hours service. The moderate café didn't offer much, but the classic decoration and wooden built-in and dim light gave the feeling of comfort to warm a soul.

Toffee-24 brought them together when sleep hadn't come along and neither bothered to get one.

The night wasn't that gloomy dark sky with alcohols and frustrated talk, but one with warm milk, asserted vanilla cookies with blueberry dressings, and talk about life and future.


	25. (Spc) Complicated

A/N : I couldn't believe last chapter's reception was… wonderful! I was surprised when I woke up with almost twenty notifications on email, and you guys have my thanks!

As promised, here's the special chapter. By special I mean, I work up to generate storyline instead of snippets, so expect a little more words here (though I personally doubt this one will be able to beat 24 )

And anyway, I'm about to put this into a separate entry to put in a little competition. Do you have suggestion of what the title should be? I found this one is rather lame, though.

* * *

Of all punishments existed, he despised silent treatment.

Nick wouldn't change his mind, and this night further proved his acknowledged hatred of it. His paw clutching tight on the spare key he had. Surely he had tried to break in with the said key, but Judy wasn't that dumb ; she let her key hung at the other side of the door so that he couldn't push it in. Furthermore, the slot added her defense.

No, he would just do it with old fashioned way.

"Carrots?" he knocked the door twice with the back of his paw.

Silence.

Of course she wouldn't reply, when Nick was in the leash. The vulpine didn't like how he put it, but right now, he could only hope Judy gave a slightest sign of approval.

That would need a hell of hard works and sweet talks, of course.

"Carrots, I know you are there," he began and knocked again, this time a little bit louder. It was 10 at night and the last thing he wanted was getting pummeled by the neighborhood of his noisy attempt to reach for his partner. "Please, let me in…" the red fox whispered weakly.

"Go sleep, Nick." came her reply, and Nick was certain the voice was loud enough to give him the certainty that she was close. He guessed Judy was just behind the door and still holding it, or probably according to cliché movies they watched last week, the bunny ended up sitting on the floor with her back reclining at the door helplessly, her face buried in her arms with them hugging her knees.

Now he was _thinking_ too much.

"I can't. You know my mind won't stop working unless you forgive me." Nick let his pad ran over smoothly on the rough surface of wooden door. He patiently waited for her reply.

"Right. I forgive you. Now go."

Her voice wasn't shaken nor reinforced ; it was flat and that wasn't what he hoped. He internally cursed himself for putting him in the current circumstance.

"That's not how it works." Nick balled his paw and grimaced when the worst part of him told him to just smash the door into pieces.

Not that he had the power.

After waiting several minutes, her reply never got out. He figured he needed to take the step, so he cleared his throat to distract her attention.

"I'm truly sorry. I don't mean to hurt you, and I believe that's just an usual part of our daily basis-" he sounded like he was justifying himself like an asshole, so he quickly changed the lead. "-in which I realized I put it on wrong time, so the blame is still on me."

Stillness.

Nick firmly supported himself with both paw on the door, the urge to bang his head on the door was almost too difficult to resist.

Just when did this begin and how would he put it to end?

* * *

 ** _-2 hours before-_**

"What a way to end the day." Nick's unenthusiastic voice rang up on their way back to home. They had just gotten their dinner, and to put in Nick's way, it went absurd. He would go cool over it if the food served mended the awful service they got, but the restaurant looked like it liked to mess around two of ZPD's best officers. Officer Grizzoli gave them the recommendation, saying that the steamed fish there was the best, and it had been a long time since Nick had his last juicy fish.

Turned out their expectation quickly diminished to the lowest level, with the food completely made him lose his appetite. But at the very least, Judy still could enjoy her vegetable salad. Nick made a mental note in the future to sneak there and take a list of health and food serving service violations they made to bring the restaurant into justice.

His mood was crumbled into pieces, and what stopping it to gather back in one piece was with the additional fact that Judy clearly had certain thing in her mind which rendered her quiet all the time and didn't even go along his protest of the low restaurant before.

And, she actually passed the driver seat on him. On his rent car.

That wasn't all he had over the day ; the worse part happened at the morning, and the fury grew even worse with the time passed. Now, the night similarly gave him the feeling of rage and madness with Nick questioned himself of his luck today.

The positive thing was that he could use some talk and jokes, so he brought up conversation.

"Now what's up Carrots? You seem unusually silent." the fox began with his mastered restrain of emotions, none of his internal protest was hinted in his usual cheery voice.

Judy remained silent on her seat, fidgeting her fingers in cue of her hesitation. As distracted as Nick was, he found it quite cute.

"Nick," Judy finally brought her face up, looking at him with glimmer of agitation. "I'm going home tomorrow." she was looking away when her sentence finished, eyes wandered to the dark night.

"Huh?" Nick bemusement appeared to be in astonishment, though he wasn't surprised at all. "What, you don't like my company?" he forced a grin to take over his face.

"No, not at all," Judy missed his attempt of brightening the situation by responding without her regular jovial pattern. "I have matters to settle." the bunny affirmed her plan with a sigh.

"Some ex-boyfriend nagging painfully around your parents?" Nick commented sarcastically, and Judy only shook her head casually.

"Nope."

"Ah, how about overgrown carrots that required your strength to pull?" he tried another one, and was met with Judy's stern look.

"Nick." she warned in reprimanding tone.

"Sorry," Nick made up his sheepish smile, now he was certain Judy was in trouble when she in fact dismissed and showed no interest in the 'fun' conversation. The fox focused on the road, but took his time to think. "But you can tell me anything. It's not like my Carrots if you're going home out of sudden."

"I'll tell you later." Judy replied along with another exhausted sigh. The day on work was long, they had been signed on overtime works and it was the first time they left the ZPD department on dark. Luckily Nick had gotten his rent car so that they wouldn't need to tire themselves out to walk to the station.

But the way Judy kept whatever issue she had got Nick's on his nerve.

"Alriiiiiight," he drawled, waving his paw on her with a low snarl. "And I bet that's not really important that needs to be kept out from one of your best friend."

When he glanced sideway to see her response, his eyes met with crossed arms and disapproval look.

"What?" Nick questioned as he turned left , keeping his speed on steady 40.

"You are on my top three of my most trusted mammals Nick. I just don't feel the time is right." Judy stated in matter of fact, but she couldn't completely hide her hesitation from her whole features. Even if it wasn't shown in her purple eyes, Nick could smell it.

"Yeah," Nick responded in disinterest. "Tell me when I'm dead." he chuckled on his way darker joke. He began to think if it was right to pull at the moment.

"Nick."

And he began to regret as soon as Judy's strained furious voice pierced through the silent night.

"Put me down." she demanded. Within the corner of his eyes, he could clearly see her fuming in visible anger.

"You're sitting down already," Nick pretended to be oblivious. "It's not like I'm holding you up." he even let a laugh, which miserably sounded like a nervous laugh.

"Pull over, Wilde."

That was it. Once his last name came up, he was done.

"Oh God," Nick mumbled. "What did I do wrong now?" he whispered and barely audible to even himself, but bunny's ears were made up for overhearing.

"Between nothing and everything," Judy replied and glared at him. "Now brake on and let me go."

"Listen, Carrots, I-" Nick began, but was cut shortly.

"Nicholas Wilde," Judy's voice was firm and felt like it sent the fox rooting in dread, with his last name and even more, her formal call on him. "Pull. Over."

The vulpine slowed down, but there was no sign of him going to the side of the road.

"Nick, you stop now or so help me, I'm going to make you _do_." the bunny almost lost her self control, threatening with her paw now fumbling over her tranquil gun.

They hadn't changed their outfit, so of course the firearm was still attached.

Nick grimaced, now fully aware he had nowhere to escape. He hoped he could explain in time, so he began to talk in very short pause between words.

"Look, I'm sorry if somehow I offend you in any possible way. I had a rough day, and-"

Nick suspected that the God of Luck had the fortune charm off from him, that now they came to halt on a red light. Of course he would stop.

"You don't owe me explanation," she casted her last death glare and undid her seatbelt in a flash. "See you _later_."

He could only witness her going farther and up until the darkness swallowed. One paw slamming on the wheel, his chin rested on it while the other paw covered his eyes in desperation.

"Good God, I'm wrecked…"

* * *

 _This would happen if you let your guard down,_ he thought to himself. That was unordinary of him, but right now the matter was not how he ended like this, but how on earth he supposed to end this.

"Carrots…" the vulpine called again, his eyes staring blankly on the door. The feeling of tingling cold sensation clung deep inside, he began to pant. Nick hadn't realized he fell on his knees, head resting on the door with a thud.

"Leave…" Judy's uncharacteristic low voice got Nick's ears straightened in alarm.

"Sorry?" Nick inquired as he pressed his ears on the door.

He could make it, his hearing caught the light sob.

She was crying.

"Nick, I beg you…" the bunny replied between her wails. "Leave me alone. Please."

"You freaking have a big problem and you ask me to leave you to deal with your own?" Nick almost shouted out of his will. He maintained his self control and managed to continue with less menacing voice. "I fully understand I said something bad back then, but this… where do our partnership take stand?"

"Nick!" Judy's protest was in an instant, as if she didn't want to wound their relationship. Of all the time, Nick believed Judy wanted his tolerance over matters she was facing. "Please…"

"No," Nick insisted, needing himself to confirm her that asking him to leave her alone on her broken state was just a futile effort. "Even if you don't open the door, I'll stay here," he knuckled the door, the light thud asserted his point. "Until I make sure you're okay."

"I need to calm down…" his partner's voice came up after a while. A distinct pause, perhaps of her taking a deep breath, and the following words got out. "And I can't do it with knowing you waiting there without knowing what happened,"

"Then either let me in or simply tell me!" Nick's frustration was clear in every single words. "Tell me everything, Carrots. I am your only partner," he briefly paused before a hurtful look took over his frown. "Don't you… trust me?"

There was a thud across him, his best guess was Judy hit the back of her head on the door the moment she heard his painful question.

"It's not that!" the response had him smiling weakly. Judy still trusted him nonetheless, and that was his utmost priority. "I…"

He waited, and keep waiting. The fox had a clear grasp on the situation, and let Judy have her moment to contemplate.

There was a loud sigh, and he prepared his ears and mind for her clarification.

"I'm sorry, I must be selfish," she began with apologetic voice, but was then shifted into a resentful one with less threatening intent. "But back at the car, when I figured that you lose your cool, I knew you were troubled as well…"

 _Oh no no no, not the song_ , Nick shook his head when her last line sounded like that song performed by a famous singer he knew.

"I feel awful," Judy continued, oblivious of Nick's distracted attention. But the fox quickly regained his composure and listened intently. "Regardless of how I treated you that bad, I still can't pull myself over to forget what you said back then," Nick frowned at that. He recalled his dark jokes, and wondered if _death_ had something to do with all of this commotion. "Even with the fact that you are unaware of the matter…"

Before the silence could wrap in, Nick pushed.

"Carrots, enlighten me. Please. I'm confused as hell here and I want to make it up," he turned in the knob, only to find it still locked. "Open the door?"

"No," Judy seemingly held the other knob, so that Nick couldn't toy with it anymore. Her strength was there to hold his own even not on her best appearance. "I can't bear to look at you now."

His ears flattened whenever the words were spoken. Did she hate him now?

"Why?" his voice dejected, the fox's tail went lifeless and flat on the floor.

"I… I'm afraid." The uncertainty was clear in her voice. Judy rarely opened up her insecurity, so it ended up with Nick held himself for quipping over it, but failed.

"Are you really that Judy Hopps who knows no fear?" he mocked despite the air of their late night talk.

"Nick."

The said vulpine cringed at her admonishment just as the bunny went silent.

He had to take things slow and let her explain.

"Listen, you need not to apologize. I'm the one who act like a street bastard, ditching someone close to me just because I was overly sensitive of something he didn't even know," the bunny spoke fast and clear, baffling the surprised fox. "And with the fact you have problems on your paw as well,"

"Is that… an apology?" was all Nick could give in with his thought reeling to process the information.

"No, _this_ is an apology," Judy's flat voice answered. "Will you forgive me?"

"No," Nick smiled on his mental image of Judy looking at him hopelessly. "Unless you promise that you'll explain everything."

"Promise." Judy's short answer gave the green light.

"Then apology accepted," Nick slapped the door gently as if giving her high-five. "Shouldn't you let me in and we get better talk?" he took the chance and inquired.

"Not long ago, the promise has nothing to do with door-related things," Judy's giggle soothed the better part of him where he should've felt annoyed that she had tricked him.

"Smart bunny…" the fox quoted in defeat.

"I really don't think that will work Nick. I'm a mess now," her own dejected voice echoed followed by a light thud. Nick assumed she had her head on the door with droopy ears. "Will you be comfortable this way?" she asked for confirmation.

"And the way you said it make me want to barge in and hug you right now," Nick replied with what he had in his mind right now. "But if you sure, I'm listening."

There was no need to rush things. Nick knew this one was going to be messy, so he gave both of them space for her to contemplate her words, and for him to prepare the worst.

Soon after, Judy's broken voice stated, emanating sorrow and grief.

"Mark passed away."

Nick's jaw hung open, and the moment he snapped back to reality, he covered it with his paw. His eyes started to feel hot. That would explain why she was completely out of mood. Judy had mentioned the name on him whenever they talked about her family. But if her loss of one of her sibling over hundreds took the toll of her, then he must be really meaningful for her.

"I'm sorry." was all the fox could muster to say. He was speechless at the moment, and subsequently became aware of the agony she had been trying to hide all the time. He clearly heard her sobbing behind the door.

"He was…. He was like my closest brother. When my siblings playfully mocked me of my dream to be the best police officer, he didn't," "He even supported me in many ways. I'm letting you know that the carrot pen I have was bought by him. I remember perfectly he gifted it to me while saying that bunnies may not be strong, but we have capabilities to trick the guilty into spilling the evidences, and that recorder pen would come handy."

"Will this hurt you if I agree with him?" Nick's snicker escaped because that carrot pen painted the best memory out of them. Though during her emotional outburst, he figured he ought to be careful to pick his way of quipping, otherwise he would end on the second silent treatment.

"Darn not," it proved to be helpful with the bunny laughed lightly. After that, silence wrapped again, up until Judy decided to tell more. "He helped me to get my grades on high-school. Mark was clever in science, and though I needed less of them when my aim was to join ZPD, I still have to pass on the test to graduate."

Nick knew Judy all too well that if she weren't mourning over him, the bunny would've told him all the secrets and hidden stories between her and Mark, and the fox was certain it was more than just helping her on her study.

"I see…" he pondered, loud enough for his partner to hear. "He did mean a lot to you."

He could hear Judy's sniffing and wailing, and his heart ached. Damn the door, the only obstacle for him to reach for her.

"And, and last week, he called and said that he wanted to see me." Judy suddenly continued, her voice cracked. Nick inwardly grimaced, knowing exactly where this was going. "I told him that in weekend I'll be there, but…" that was her limit as Nick's hearing confirmed that Judy was now bursting out crying, wailing and weeping. "No one, even my mom and dad, mentioned that he had gotten sick," Nick felt his own eyes trickling tears in her share of pain. "I never know… and he didn't make it this afternoon…" the heartache was almost too much to bear, Nick grasped his chest painfully. "If… If…" Nick was aware Judy couldn't pull herself to talk anymore and already broke down in tears, so he needed to stop her from adding more pain on both of them.

"Carrots," Nick wiped his eyes with his forearm, his voice cracked as well, but he composed himself in hope that Judy didn't feel bad of knowing that her pain had gotten into him too. "Carrots, calm down, please…"

"I… I can't forgive myself…" she banged her paw on the hard surface in self hatred and frustration. Nick's paw on the door felt the faint vibration as the side effect. "I'm just a selfish mammal who didn't deserve a kind-hearted brother like him…"

"Carrots," Nick subconsciously cupped the door, like what he would do to her paw in attempt to comfort her. "Hey, listen to me." he whispered with his best soothing voice. The fox remained silent to listen behind the door, the wail lessened but she was still sobbing.

"Mark won't forgive himself either, if he saw your miserable state now," Nick gently said, trying his best not to let his own emotion to interfere. "Don't you think so?"

He let the bunny calm herself down, providing enough space between his words just so Judy could clear her mind and settle down.

"The last thing he wanted was to make his precious sister to cry her heart out of him," Nick continued in confidence. He grinned, knowing that if they were face to face, she would look up at him with puzzled face. "I may not know him, but I share the same feeling." he finished in what seemed to be an understatement of _confidence._

"You… you what?" Judy's whisper was obviously tangled in exasperation, so Nick took his liberty to explain.

 _This wouldn't sound like me, but oh well, let's try_ , he pondered right before speaking up.

"After all this time? I've grown attached on you, to think that you're my own sister, Judy," Nick didn't feel like having exaggeration on his word, but for Judy's account, both his sudden confession and his use of her first name gave her the weird sensation and shiver, but effectively calmed her nerves. "Beat me, I'm not given a chance to feel how it's like to have a sibling, since I'm my mom's only child," the fox laughed nervously with his claws tracing down the door. "But I'm certain that's what Mark will feel, just as how I'm feeling right now."

"You … dork," Judy was laughing sincerely though still remorsefully, but Nick could feel warmth surging inside him. "Now I realize you do remind me of him…" the doe spoke in honesty yet she sobbed again.

"I'm honored." Nick clasped his paw together on his chest in satisfaction, watching the door like he could see through it and see Judy's smile grown.

They spent another moment in dark night and silence, albeit slightly less gloomy.

"How about you?" Judy asked. Nick assumed she had already back to her prior self "You seemed upset after our dinner," Judy pointing it out despite his best effort to mask it appeared to be less convincing. "That was surprising to find you get that distracted. I assume it must be as hard as mine?"

Well, she was his partner for a reason, Nick chuckled at the thought. Since that Judy had gotten all out, he understood it was his turn now.

"No," Nick replied in short, and his mind interrupted him to continue before Judy could intercept. "And before you push me to spit everything out, no," he listened at her soft giggle, smiling on his own and explained.

"It's just trivial thing. I ordered a package of goodies online, saying that in two days it would arrive. But it's been a week, and nothing shows up," that goodies in question were couple parkas in green for the bigger one, and light pink for the smaller. The image of him and Judy wore it together almost never failed to bring up his big smile, even during their sincere talks now. He rooted for it after Clawhauser sent him the link, and alas, hopes got crushed. "And what makes it even worse, our seat before was moved haphazardly, the cook was not as I expected, and the discount coupon didn't count."

He chuckled again, with Judy behind the door following suit.

"I guess I'm the emotional bunny…" her soft voice smooth, calming both of them.

"And I'm the dumb fox." Nick joined the remark in humor.

"Che," Judy replied, and to the fox's joy, she sounded cheerful already. "What has gotten into us, spending our night carelessly pouring our heart out?"

"Anything that makes you feel better will do, and if _that_ happens to be one, I'm all in." Nick responded nonchalantly, having his casual smirk back after getting into a train of jittery talks.

"You really sound like Mark…" Judy's sigh was clad in between anguish and amusement, but her chortle right after proved that the latter took domination.

"Should I just shut up?" Nick opened his jaw wide and brought it closed noisily, telling her of his gesture in sounds.

"No," Judy replied in disagreement. "And I guess I'll open the door now."

Just as the sound of the metallic cling was about to click, Nick jammed his own key, holding the lock in the place.

"Uhm," Nick muttered. "I don't see the point now, since our chit-chat appears to reach the end."

That wasn't the point. His internal part screamed, protesting his decision where the majority of him wanted to see and hug her.

Not that he was in better state, though.

"Oh…" Judy's mumble expressed her confusion. A wry smirk made the way to the fox's lips as he retracted his key.

"Unless if you want your clingy fox partner rushes in and starts to hug you to death?" the moment he let it slip, he cursed himself loud enough for her to hear. "Ukh, damn snout. Pick better euphemism next time."

"No, that's actually pleasant to hear," Judy replied. "To be honest, I won't mind dying in your arm."

"Don't say it." Nick growled, the last mental image he wanted on earth didn't seem to be pleasant to appear now.

"Nah, I'm just making us fair. One to one, right?" Judy's hustling voice was brought up. Nick could swear his vision was able to penetrate the wall and seeing Judy in her hustle gesture, with the tip of her ears swayed, one paw on hips and the other one drew away.

"Sly bunny." Nick replied, surprisingly in delight even after Judy got him off guard.

For a moment, only their steadied breaths accompanied throughout the hollow night. Then, he broke it in serene voice.

"Can I say we're… good?" Nick summarized, and right after let out a yawn. He didn't recall spending almost two hours straight in front of her room.

"Yeah," Judy responded in agreement. "But we need rest after so many emotional contents…"

"I'm not leaving until you can sleep." Nick stated, expecting no further objections.

"Here you go again," Judy sighed, followed by a soft giggle. "I don't need babysitter."

"Well, but you need a _bunnysitter_." Nick kidded with chuckles between his teeth.

"Oh shush," Judy couldn't help but laugh. "Really, I'm fine Nick." she assured him, but that wouldn't budge the stubborn fox.

"The last time you said you're fine, you broke a glass and stepped on the shards." Nick reminded her. It was that time when she called him saying that she was fine but needed to take break on the work. When Nick visited during lunch break and called in to inform him coming over, he was presented with the sound of breaking glass. As he hurried to her apartment, whenever he broke in, Judy was holding her feet in pain, having some of the fragments piercing her sole.

"You ought to take care of yourself as well, Nick," the bunny's reply was clever for a countermeasure. Nick smirked at her next words. "You spend so much time looking at me. I bet you look horrible now."

"Care for bunnies come first, fox on second." he delightedly teased. The fox was now seated on the floor and looking at the door. They were having regular conversation, but with the door served as an obstacle blocking each other's expression.

"And I don't want to be your maid," Judy replied, and as some certain phrase popped in the vulpine's mind, Judy already one step ahead. "No, don't say the word."

Oh dear, but foxsitter did sound odd, Nick laughed to himself.

Before long, he found himself speaking against his mind.

"I hate to bring this up again, but I'll drive you home."

"You okay with it?" Judy didn't answer right away, but instead with a question. "I can just take the train, you know."

"And let you cry for 3 hours alone and brought the attention of all passengers until you reach Bunnyburrow?" Nick snickered, and winced as he heard the loud bang twice on the door. He must've gotten her there. "I assure you, I'm a good pillow _and_ a good shoulder to cry."

"I'm not in the position to argue, aren't I?" her resigned voice was assigned as part of agreement.

"Nope." Nick confirmed shortly.

"If you insist," the rabbit behind the door laughed. "But I must warn you, once you stepped in Bunnyburrow, there was no going back."

"And what was that supposed to mean?" Nick questioned in mild curiosity. Deep down, the craziest part of him found out he was thinking of meeting her parents and requested their bles-

No. Forget it.

"Two words. Hundreds and bunnies." Judy's cheery voice absurdly sent chill down his spine. But not that he couldn't handle them, the vulpine grinned.

"Ouch," he feigned a wince. "Hey, at least they're fluffy."

"Are you implicitly saying that I'm fluffy?" Judy proposed with a hint of excitement in her voice. Was she excited to bring him to her hometown?

"I did call you _Fluff_ with a reason, Fluff," Nick explained, and then his phone rang the midnight alarm. He shut it off in an instant. "And off with the talk. It's midnight already and we need some sleep."

"Will you be okay?" her worrying voice asked him. "I mean, if you don't feel good enough to drive…" her voice trailed off, in which Nick had already known what would come afterward. "… you can sleep here."

"Here?" Nick tapped his feet on the floor rapidly, signaling his current position. "Oh sweet. Maybe in the morning someone walking down the hall will wake me up."

"Cynical as always," Judy laughed in reply. "Nah, you're going in."

Before the fox could sign a protest, the door was open. There, Judy's bloodshot eyes looking up and down of him, a trade of look happened whenever they examined each other – Nick's night vision had caught her smile beneath the messy face, and Judy, with the help of the light from the hall, spotted Nick's trace of wet trails on his cheek. None had gotten the best shape, and the moment they realized it, they ended up in a bear hug. Judy clung tight on his neck, and Nick supporting her with her arms around her waist. Both let out series of chuckles, satisfied laugh and comforting whispers as Nick shut the door with his feet and let the bunny hop off from his embrace.

"Sorry to bother you," she opened her closet and threw him her spare blanket. "I know your apartment is wider and has bed for you to sleep on."

"But," Nick smirked, the gesture wasn't apparent due to the density of darkness in her room, but his eyes shone with spark of humor."My apartment doesn't offer my best and sweetest companion and I'm certain I can fit in."

Judy stifled a laugh at it, and hopped on her bed. The night had gotten colder before she could realize it, and she snuggled closer to her blanket.

Before she decided to sleep, she rolled like a sausage hotdog to the edge of her bed, facing the vulpine who had just settled his sleeping position ; both arms behind his head.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"That's not a compliment, Carrots." Nick corrected, believing that the expression of gratitude was for his latest remark.

"No," Judy cut in, her paw reached out to caress his warm cheeks. "Thank you, for everything."

* * *

 _She was running in her dream, chasing the tan rabbit with white furs on his arms and legs._

 _"I'm sorry." she murmured with her paw reaching him, distance between them diminished slowly. The moment she opened her eyes, he was right before her._

 _"I always look for you, Judy." he smiled, grasping her forearm in supporting gesture. His body became engulfed with bright light, his appearance illuminated her eyes._

 _She could only listen to her words._

 _"And both of us know the best, I'm not the only one."_

 _Judy was certain, that last sentence was said not only by him._

 _"Thank you Mark!" she shouted in distant voice, and soon followed by whispering to no one in particular with less longing, but more appreciating tone.  
_

 _"And thank you, Nick."_


	26. Stargazing

A/N : Thanks for the reviews! I did admit I always write in hurry. Even so, I took my time to read the whole story before posting it ( last chapter was 5k words, so I might miss a lot ). I will try to look up again from the first chapter to fix what needs to be done. I appreciate anyone here who still stays despite my poor grammar.

* * *

Judy didn't refuse when Nick asked him to come over. The fox texted something about doing some night routine and requested her company at the moment. Surprisingly, this was the first time he took her to his apartment's rooftop where almost all parts of the city could be seen there.

Her partner left her right after walked her up there, with him informing his short leave but assured her he would be back sooner. She was too absorbed on her thought and lost her track over time. The bunny could hear the door behind her was shut open.

"Having good time, Carrots?" Nick's voice boomed as he scooted toward her slowly, his bright green eyes glinted in appreciation and it made her smile. Judy noticed he was holding something in both of his paws, but couldn't make it amidst the dark.

"Yeah." she nodded as she listened to his footsteps. He walked through a clearing with the moonlight shone over it, revealing the lime soda can on his paw. That hardly took her attention because Nick looked marvelous beneath the moonlight. Nick handed her the drink and broke her trance, which then she accepted while throwing a smile. He offered his own sweet smile and stayed close to her, his tail occasionally brushed on her hips.

Both of them enjoyed the view without trading remarks, the cool air gave slight chill but with them standing nearby and the two were dressed in sweaters, none of them commented. Their eyes were up at the sky and wandering across the murky horizon, with dazzling stars and milky moon entertained their vision.

"I used to stargazing when I was a kit." Judy spoke suddenly as she let her gaze fell to the boisterous city. The luminous glow from numerous street lights, dim orange ray emitted through windows of tall apartments, were adorning and embellishing the whole Zootopia. The night had grown darker yet the upbeat town still looked lively.

"Really?" Nick asked quietly. He followed her eyes, his paw clutching tight the soda can and gently shaking it.

"Uh huh," Judy replied without moving her gaze. "We have strawberry shortcake and apple slush every Friday's night," she was expecting Nick's remark including questioning her the missing existence of carrots, but the vulpine apparently stayed quiet. She took a sip on her soda and continued. "Everyone takes their portion and scrambles out of house, deciding on their own which place they'll like to stay."

"That sounds fun." Nick muttered between horror and interest. The thought of seeing horde of bunnies escaped from the narrow hole completely meddled out the image of watching serene night on the vast grass field.

"It does," Judy couldn't hold her chuckle whenever she spotted his apparent uneasiness on his face. The bunny snapped her finger to cross his attention. "Though sometimes there were quarrels to conquer of what seemed to be the best spot."

Nick let a dummy gasp once the mental image was replaced with civil war among rabbits, with pitchforks and torch fires poised in offensive stance."I can't imagine the chaos." he ended up with silly grin.

"Oh, it's not that bad," Judy appeared to see through his mind and laughed. "And I hadn't for once bothered to fight over for the spot," she told him, and Nick didn't want to imagine how her siblings would end _if_ she decided to take part in the conquest. "I like to stay on the farthest hill, avoiding any noise and just enjoying the sky."

"Let me guess," the fox snickered and wagged his finger on her. "Alone?"

"Yup," Judy giggled as her ears straightened up. "Whenever I asked anyone to go along, they always protested because it was pretty far and you needed to hike."

"And it's worth it?" Nick enquired although already acknowledged the answer.

"Absolutely." Judy confirmed straight and clear. She held her can as if silently asking for a cheers. Nick complied and brought his own, the light clang generated from it.

"I'm interested," the vulpine grinned sideway, his way of saying it hinted the bunny of the suggestion to bring him there. She supposed it wasn't a bad idea. "Are the sky there and up here different?" Nick questioned rhetorically.

"I guess no?" Judy hummed after pondering a few moment. "I just watch and I don't care with the whole tiny details." she let out an amused laugh, tilting her head a little with her ears brushed at her partner's neck fur. Nick shivered slightly but was quick to recompose.

"Supposedly, you ought to count the stars." Nick's finger pointed up and he started to mumble the number of his calculation. It resulted with Judy swatting his arm and giggling crazily.

"And take a note of how many missing stars compared with last week?" she mocked between her short breath and giggles. "Nick, I wonder if that brain of yours still works."

"Well, if malfunctioning at certain occasions does count as work, I'm confident with it." Nick began out with his riddling session. Judy narrowed her eyes at him.

"That doesn't sound nice…" she mumbled with her mind trying to figure out what he meant. "What about-"

"Ssh."

Nick had brought his finger right on her lips, effectively shutting her off. Just as he retracted back, Judy puffed her cheeks but obliged to suppress her objections.

Few minutes went, and finally Judy cracked in.

"Nick?"

"Nick isn't available now. Try again later."

A soft giggle vibrated, which happened to be the last sound bothered the duo. The stars whispered along the wind, the moon gleamed, and certain rabbit and fox were quiet.

But sometimes, silence was the comfortable blanket.


	27. Candor

"I do look convincing, aren't I?"

The lottery he picked for their event of the day had both him and his partner obliged to go through a day of candor. They set the number of questions up to ten before switching the candid subject. Since Nick was responsible for the event, he would go first.

The fox was working his brain to make it short, knowing that Judy wouldn't waste her opportunity to suck out every of his truthful statements over his usual shifty remarks. Nick's smile grew into an anticipation one, with Judy scoffed after glancing at him.

"It's hard to tell with that face of yours." the bunny replied, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Can you see the wound, Carrots?" Nick smirked and brought his paw close to his chest, rubbing it lightly. "It's bleeding here!" he exclaimed exaggeratingly. Judy cringed at his high pitch but giggled and punched him straight on jaw. It took him off balance, and while rubbing his snout, he casted her a look.

"Honestly?" Judy chuckled, seeing his priceless face mentally tickled her.

"Yeah, honestly," Nick said after regaining his cool. When he figured her silence, he went cross arm and looked right into her eyes. "What? You ask me to be honest right?"

"You're _not_ bleeding." Judy couldn't stop herself to roll her eyes in sarcasm.

"Don't take it literally," the vulpine leaned on the wall, his eyes glimmering with mischievous glint. "I'm a mammal full of metaphors."

"Do metaphors count as lies?" Judy's brilliant counter ultimately brought the fox into an open submission.

"Technically, yes." Nick snickered at her and brushed his chin thoughtfully.

"Then that's not fair, sweetheart." Judy reminded him of the game they were playing now, with Nick grinning at her refutation.

"Alright, no more adage. I swear." Nick held his paw in peace motion. Judy cleared her throat and went on.

"Between me and Finnick, who do you like the most?"

"Latter." the interrogated fox grinned smugly witnessing her shocked expression.

"Why thanks." Judy grumbled, not quite sure whether to feel surprised or annoyed. Still, she knew something between the duo foxes must have created certain chemistry between them.

Judy wondered if she ought to pry it over.

"Further questions are still welcomed." Nick called her out of reverie.

"From one to ten, how much do you give for blueberries?" she began.

"Absolute ten." Nick actually laughed between his answer. He supposed Judy wasted her chance to only confirm his obvious affinity for the succulent fruit.

"Favorite color?" the rabbit continued, her mind had three guesses ; green, yellow or black.

"Black."

 _Had seen through it, slick,_ Judy's self-satisfied smirk made Nick quirked his eyebrow. But he wasn't at the place to ask.

"Lemon or orange?" Judy asked another. For her account, orange would be her choice.

Not because the fruit, because if she were honest, she liked orange _color_.

"Neither." Nick shook his head to further affirm his answer. The fox smirked at her confused look, and decided to push it a little. "They're sour, just like my past."

"So now you're sweet?" Judy investigated more, her questions became even more personal.

But that was the point of the day of candor ; to find more puzzles of him. And she would bet her life and everything on her bank account because she knewl all too well that neither would deny on the fact they were enjoying this.

"Am I sweet? No, no I'm not. But _we_ are." Nick managed to smartly change the tide of favor. Right now, he certainly believed he was more pleasured with his words rather than the investigator.

Well, the bunny didn't look like she didn't enjoy his revelation either.

"Can we be friend?" Judy went into a trivial question, hoping that it would take him off-guard. But luck was against her when Nick had her amazed with his dodgy counter.

"Yes and no." while the words escaped from his snout, Nick brought his paws up to the air with one balled and the other splayed wide.

"Elaborate?" Judy mused in interest.

"Yes as mutual feeling," Nick let his splayed paw fell when he answered, before moving his focus to his other one. "…and no if you leave me." with that, he put down his balled fist.

"Oh, do you honestly think I'm that type of mammal?" Judy mocked him with her softly cooed. Nick had practiced his self control not to say the c-word.

"No." he replied shortly.

Judy knew it was a dead-end, so she went another route.

"Couch or bed?" the bunny asked without looking at him as she began to walk to the door, hopping along jovially.

"Do I have to pick?" Nick followed her slowly, his feet moving loosely."Either is fine." he eventually answered, his paws went their way to his trouser's pockets.

"Wanna go to the night carnival?" Judy's question flew smooth with her apparent demeanor showed no hesitation. Luckily she had her back on him, otherwise Nick would've spotted her dangerous smirk.

"Sure," Nick rubbed his forearms, part of him told him something was off. He blinked twice before realizing she actually had made eleven. "Hey, that's cheating!"

"I take that as yes, more or less." Judy threw him a wink despite his feigned irked feature.

"Alright, you win," the red fox shrugged, but then pointed his digit distantly at her eyes. "But don't expect me to go easy on you."

"I know," Judy clicked the key and opened the door, smirking at him before going out and slamming the door.

Oh boy, that was unexpected.

"See you at eight!" her energetic yell rang and prompted Nick to prepare himself. He took his phone and stared at the screen. It wouldn't be long before the time, so the vulpine rummaged his closet for a nice suit aside from his usual attire.

Well, if honesty still counted, he wouldn't mind to make it twelve because by God, he knew he would like this.


	28. Ramen

A/N : We almost reach 1 month people! I'm planning to write another special chapter, but since we already have one before, I'll make it when the story reaches 10k hits. It's still halfway, so we'll see how it goes. And as always, you guys have my thanks!

* * *

Nick naturally woke up without the alarm's help. The sleepy fox yawned, his jaw widely open, revealing the series of fangs. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, hadn't yet to move from his place. Cracking his knuckles and spine and was satisfied with the sound, Nick went to check his phone.

It showed 5:32 AM, 66 degree of Farenheit and two texts sent from Judy almost half an hour ago.

Sitting at the edge of his bed, the vulpine groaned and threw off his blanket randomly. He would fix his bed later, knowing that the most part of him wanted him to lay down another minutes. And he did so, tossing his phone away and sighed at the sensation of his back getting massaged by the soft cushion.

He ought to make sure he wouldn't get asleep again, and thought that unfolding his curtain would help. But the idea of having his eyes illuminated by the sun ray held his will against it.

His stomach grumbled, another reason of him to get up from the tantalizing bed. The cop sighed again and stretched one more time before jumped from the bed and began to walk to the kitchen with a slouch. Nick opened his fridge and found nothing in it, grimacing and slapping his forehead when he recalled that he planned to go shopping yesterday, but was forgotten with Judy offering to make them a dinner.

So, his only option was left in the drawer below the stove. He fetched one instant ramen and shut the door with his feet before proceeding to boil a water. Normally, an instant ramen was put in the boiling water, but Nick found it a nuisance with him had to wait the water to boil first, so the fox put it right after he turned on the stove. That way, he could leave it and do other things.

Other things occurred in his mind was to take a shower. Nick reluctantly walked with half lid eyes to grab his towel. He wondered why on earth most mammals were technically early birds and loved morning so much.

Especially his very partner.

Just as he swung the towel over his shoulder, there was a knock on his front door. Loud, banged twice and with additional twice louder knocks.

 _Speaking of enthusiasm…_

The door burst open, and a very lively and spirited rabbit stepped in, her whole feature brightened so much Nick had to shield his eyes.

"Hi Nick!" Judy beamed and trotted toward him. "Are you ready to make the world a better place?"

Nick was about to persuade her to go first and have him to catch up on her, since he was woefully unprepared comparing to the his buoyant partner. But the attempt vanished when he remembered she had texted him earlier.

"First, let me make my apartment a better place." Nick grinned, and did after that Judy looked around. Finishing her examination, her eyes were brought back on his with disgusted look, which quickly shifted into an ignorant one.

"Oh come on, we're going to be late if you do that." Judy protested nearly in grief, and Nick guessed that was just fake.

"Well, I think you're fine with all these messes." Nick shrugged and rubbed the front of his snout with the towel. The fox let another yawn.

"It's not like this is my first time here, slick." Judy reminded him, and she didn't seem to be bothered with his untidy apartment.

Well, clothes and snack wrappers thrown everywhere was still on her tolerance.

"Yeah yeah, talk about my bad habit," Nick chuckled and decided to bring a boil another pot of water. He would certainly need a coffee. "Go easy on me, Fluff. I'm not, and will never be a morning mammal."

"You'll get used to it sooner or later." the doe jumped to his couch and already settled down, eyeing him from head to toes.

"In ten years, yeah I agree," Nick snickered. The drowsy fox then began to walk to his bathroom, which located not far from his kitchen. "Let me take a quick shower."

"What are you cooking?" Judy's eyes beamed when she realized he had set something on the stove back then.

"You'll see." Nick commented and grinned at her with his upcoming banter. "Wanna come?"

"Nah," Judy stuck her tongue on him, with Nick clutched his chest in hurtful expression as his reply. "I already took one."

"But you haven't done it _with_ a fox, right?" Nick threw her a wink and casually kicked the door open.

"I see a suggestive implication," that would sound right _if_ they were texting, but both her and the fox were having actual conversation. Nick only snickered as an acknowledgement of her misplaced remark, but chose not to brag it. Judy wasn't fazed and she kept going with her threat, her paw pointing him like having a sharp sword right on his chest. "Go along with it and you'll have yourself cuffed in attempt of verbal and sexual harassment."

Between her mention of cuffs and the stuff they were talking, Nick had something even nastier in his mind, ready to be blown on her. The fox eventually shrugged, not wanting to somehow offend her in his another level of teasing.

"Hmm, I'll pass." Nick went to the bathroom and shut the door close.

The sound of rushing water accompanied the lonely bunny. She sat on the couch with phone on her paw, just as thunder roared outside. The bunny gave a startled yelp and almost dropped her phone. There was a different sound of rushing water which felt distant but way louder.

"Oh darn…" she muttered and looked through the window, confirming her dread.

She could swear when she walked to Nick's apartment, the sky was bright and clear. The abrupt change of weather sometimes irked her, because the bunny would feel helpless of not bringing any preparation.

Oh well, it would wait.

Judy hopped off and wandered around his apartment. She ended on the kitchen, and with an agile leap the rabbit peeked on the stove. She figured Nick would make quick breakfast, and the fox was currently cleaning up, so Judy decided to help him. Once she was sure the ramen was cooked, she turned off the stove and poured it to the bowl Nick had prepared before. Judy noticed the second pot was boiled as well, and was quick to grab a mug, a sachet of black coffee and his jar of sugar.

When the bathroom door opened, Judy had set his breakfast on the marble table and was seen busy on her phone. Nick wasn't oblivious of her losing her usual jovial mood, and decided to ask.

"What is it, Carrots?" the fox questioned as he hung his towel on the rack. He wiped the side of his snout twice before doing so.

"It's raining." Judy mumbled and believed Nick didn't need to be told. Her partner's reply was a chuckle of mixed resignation and delight.

"Well, too bad we're going to be lectured by buffalo butt." he quipped nonchalantly and walked to his room. In a flash, Judy leaped over the couch and was in front of him, prodding a finger firmly at his chest.

"We're going." the rabbit said flatly.

"I know," Nick grumbled under his breath, gently moved her aside and paced faster. The fox casted a sideway look and smiled. "Give me some space, will ya?"

Judy nodded and went back to the couch.

"I've taken the liberty to finish your breakfast." she shouted the information. The steaming bowl and mug was right after her, on the wooden tray.

"By finish, you don't mean you eat them, do you?" Nick's voice came up with the sound of the door opened. The vulpine fumbled on his tie, walked to the couch and sat down.

"No of course," she pushed the tray toward him. "I'm not a big fan of it."

"Oh trust me," Nick picked up the blue-stripped white mug and carefully took a sip. "Once you try, you'll have it every day." he put it down and began to dig in his ramen.

"Won't work on me." Judy confidently assured.

"Well, give it a try?" he offered a spoonful of the soup, an almost red colored soup with pungent smell. "The taste improves when it's raining."

She did open her mouth and let the spoon slip in. The mixed taste of chili, onion, pepper, and what she thought as ginger and soy sauce filled her sense of taste. The bunny blinked twice and had to wipe her lips with her napkin.

"Not bad." Judy commented. It was kind of spicy, and indeed, combined with the warm temperature of the liquid, having ramen on rainy day would seem to be wonderful. But she wouldn't say she liked the flavor. Nick noticed her look and chuckled.

"We're on different board, aren't we?" he said while savoring his ramen.

"Kind of," Judy replied and gave a look of asking permission to have his coffee, which Nick nodded at her. "But you don't seriously have this as your breakfast every morning, right?" the bunny asked after relieving the leftover spicy taste in her mouth with the hot drink. "I heard having too much ramen would affect your digestion."

"Yea, whenever I feel like I'm up for some spicy soup," Nick set down his half-eaten breakfast and walked to his fridge. "I normally take some apples with cinnamons for early morning, but you see," as he opened the refrigerator and shifted aside so that she could take a look, it was almost empty. Only two bottle of waters, one smaller bottle of strawberry juice and nothing else. "I'm out of stock." Nick shrugged and fetched the juice and threw it across the room, having Judy gracefully caught it.

"So it's decided," Judy smiled at him. "We're going shopping after work."

"No objection here, ma'am." Nick's casual grin showed his approval.

The rain had subdued after Nick finished his coffee but not his ramen. He was about to twirl the strand of noodles with his fork but was startled at Judy's sudden laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Nick glanced at her, his ears straightened up in confusion.

"No, but-" she giggled and consciously swatted his tail away, which had started to creep closer to her. "Just remembered that funny part of movie where a couple ate spaghetti, you know, that romantic way, and ended up-"

"Kissing each other 'cause they were munching the same strand?" Nick finished for her and munched the noodles, some of the sauce made a crimson stain at his creamy fur.

"I guess you're not that dumb, Nick." Judy brought her napkin up and wiped the stain. Nick was taken aback and unconsciously purred in delight.

"Does it make me dumber to ask you mimicking the affair?" the fox whispered lowly, another show-off of his signature smirk. Judy chuckled and slapped him tenderly with the napkin.

"Yes," she raised her paw to show her objection. "And isn't it stupid, considering noodles are basically bunch of strands and such occasion likely will almost be impossible to happen?"

Nick's delinquent mind worked out again, and this time, he let it out.

"How would you know?" the vulpine leaned his snout closer, the smirk getting even wicked his teeth barred visibly. "You certainly never tried."

Judy brought up her challenging sneer with her eyes half closed, head tilted just a little.

"Actually, I'm one hundred percent won't mind testing that proposition."

And then both of their phone rang, with the same ringtone that sent chill down their spine.


	29. Doughnuts

"Over here, Carrots!"

Judy wouldn't need her partner shouting across the hall, waving his paw frantically and attracting others' attention to them. Rolling her eyes and chuckling a little, she jogged to the front desk where Clawhauser was usually standing by.

Strangely, today the chubby cheetah was nowhere to be seen. Before the roll call, Judy had noticed the cheetah's absence, but thought he was going to restroom or kind of personal call and didn't bother to think more. Now not that Clawhauser had yet to return, he somehow left a box of doughnuts as well as her smiling partner on his place.

"Only God knows what has happened to Clawhauser that he devoted his portion of doughnuts to us." Nick gestured and thumbed to the pink box next to his snout. A note was latched on the box with plaster, with the name ' _Hopps and Wilde'_ handwritten on it, and right below the name, numerous scribbles of heart emoticon filled the remaining space.

"Well?" Judy stared at the discovery with slight discomfort. "It's not like we can eat them all." she pointed out the fact. The size of the box usually held a dozen of doughtnuts. Nick's short ears straightened as soon as he caught her reply.

"Do I hear a challenge just now?" he let his smirk pester his precious partner, the effort was approved with Judy lightly scowling at her.

"Don't," the doe rebuked with hard stare on her eyes. "I won't bear to go on patrol with stuffed fox," while saying that, Judy brought her paw together and rested it at one side of her face, and purposely leaned her head on it. "He would just start his slumber later on."

To be fair, Nick wouldn't go to that degree of Clawhauser's level in devouring donuts either. He just didn't feel like having more than three of the absurdly sweet snacks, and certainly wouldn't bother to force himself into it.

"Pick one and we'll save it on my place." The vulpine cop finally said. He lifted the box and held it on his paw, while the free one opened the cover for his partner.

"Fine for me," Judy went along, and just as her paw reached at the opened box, she grinned slyly. "The worst one to flirt with doughnut will treat lunch for a week!"

"Oh," Nick wouldn't be Nicholas Wilde if he found himself surprised at it. Instead, the fox simply brought his paw to fix his loose tie, his face didn't show any concern. "So the challenge does come."

"If you're too afraid to lose, I'll go first." the enthusiastic rabbit sneered. Nick furrowed his eyebrow at her but brought up his characteristic smirk.

"Let's see…" Judy scanned the variation of taste inside, and within seconds her eyes were already fixed on the donut with lime green sprinkles and vanilla icing. The green sprinkles indicated the peppermint taste. "I'll take this one." she snatched and hummed a happy tone.

"Hmm?" Nick waited her words and took his turn to choose for his donut.

"Ya know," Judy began, her paw holding the donut, treasuring it with gentle care. "I love this one from the first time my dad bought one to home," she briefly shook her paw that held the donut, some sprinkles were detached from the glaze. "It's sweet and the mint brings that cool sensation," Judy continued and glanced for his partner's reaction, but found none - or rather, Nick was too good to mask it . "I guess that reminds me of you, since you're the coolest mammal I know and it has green sprinkles identical to your verdant eyes." her final statement roused his attention as Nick looked at her, his eyes gleamed with pleasure.

"Well, won't expect less from a master of screenplay." Nick smiled genuinely as warmth surged inside him. Although none of her words were taken seriously, the fox saw through it ; she meant certain parts of her talk.

"Yours?" Judy asked and held herself to take a bite on her donut. She would, when Nick had chosen one as well.

"I'm not going to shower you with compliments," Nick's first warning caused Judy to giggle, and the following statement turned it into a hearty laugh. "Any donuts are okay, since they're all sweet as you."

"Wow," Judy's surprised voice rang between her breath. "I honestly thought you would come up with something related with blueberry donut."

"Why not both?" Nick smirked and pulled one with powdered sugar dressing. That kind of donuts had the fruit-flavored filling ranging from strawberry, blueberry, pineapple, avocado, and many more. However, there was a hint to distinguish the filling ; a small dot of cream at the donut's side. The one at Nick's grasp was marked with dark blue dot, confirming his choice.

"Mmm, this is wonderful!" the vulpine hummed in pure delight with his first nibble on the donut. Judy followed, and her eyes brightened at the taste.

"Like me?" Judy chose to jest a little along with her savoring the peppermint donut.

"Like you," his nod and wink served as his agreement. Nick licked his finger after finishing the snack and shut the box close. "Alright, that's enough. I won't want to die in diabetes."

"Fiiiiine," the bunny agreed nonetheless, the idea of sinking in gluttony of sweet treats gave a swirl in her gut. "Make sure to secure it well. You know how Fangmeyer and Higgins love free stuffs." Judy looked around warily when she said the name, inwardly hoping the persons in question wouldn't suddenly appear like ghost in scary movies.

"We'll just bring it along." Nick chortled, gleefully holding the box over his shoulder like workers bringing their toolbox.

"Smart fox."

"Sweet bunny."


	30. Months

A/N : 30 days straight! We'll keep going no matter what!

And why _'we'_? Because like other authors have said, I write the story and you guys read it. When either is missing, the story won't live.

* * *

For almost 242 months, Nick lived throughout the city of Zootopia on his delinquent way. Of course he willingly noted from time to time of how he survived in the city and how long he had successfully keeping it clear and clean.

The keyword was _almost_.

The flawless record got broken by karma's curse of him toying around with the new police bunny in the city. Funnily, God had punished him in interesting way which happened to be stuck helping the said police to find out of missing mammals. In the next 48 hours, he involuntarily cursed himself internally for letting him gotten along her affairs.

But God was merciful. He discovered something that had long been forsaken deep inside in the course of their quest.

Trust.

And just as fast as the feeling grew, it happened even faster to vanish and replaced with resentment of betrayal.

Was this the feeling of getting toyed emotionally?

For another 3 months afterward, Nick spent his days glumly. His mind was indecisive of whether to hope Judy would come back to him asking for apology, or to get rid of her image from his memory forever. The time felt hollow, everything went back to grayscale, a life without meaning but to _live._

The day Judy came to him brought back that strange fervor. In the end, he decided fully with his heart to keep up with her.

When the riot subsided and peace rose back to Zootopia, everything seemed slowly going back to normal. Judy grasped the opportunity to once again handed him the certain light brown paper and her carrot pen. No grudges, no hard feelings, only smiles of acknowledging each other.

This time, the trust remained.

* * *

9 months.

Both knew what Nick would face sooner or later. Both learnt the consequence, and even before entering the series of training Nick assured her he had gotten through something worse, the unbearable pain on his first day failed to convince him to make it out alive throughout the entire session.

They stayed on contact by texting each other during his rest time. Strict rules forbade him to get in touch with his phone all the daytime, in which he found it reasonable ; no one would want their focus getting disturbed by personal matters. In the night, Nick normally sent the message first to assure her availability, and was pleased that most of the time, Judy typed the reply fast.

Or maybe, the bunny had _made_ time for him.

The ache coming from every of his muscles often denied his desire to contact her longer. It generally became typical night where Judy waited for his reply but got none in more than ten minutes, with the fox had sunk his face on the pillow, snoring lightly. They weren't calling as for the snore to tell her, but the pause was enough to conclude the suspicion and she would go to sleep as well. Part of her hoping that fortune brought them together in dream.

Waiting Nick's text for ten minutes or more was one thing, but the whole nine months held the real deal.

Judy ordinarily paid him a visit during Sunday morning once a month while bringing fresh fruits and baked pastries. The rabbit would love to look for him every weekend, but her other concerns were taking most of the time, especially her job. That was why the sporadic event mostly surprised Nick because Judy never texted if she were about to come.

With flowing time, Judy came to realization that when the day of Nick's graduation had finally come, she believed that her days with him as her partner would darn worth it. The day she patched his badge on his chest with him clad in set of brand new police uniform proved that the long time wait was rewarding.

She was proud, he was proud, and both were proud ; of patience, strong wills, conviction, endless determination, the volition to start walking in the light and stepping away from the dark, hard works, and of course…

Faith.

Each of them held beliefs, that together, they could achieve her life dream and his long forsaken hope ; making a better world and becoming part of a pack respectively.

* * *

And there they were, still counting the months passed from the graduation up until now. Neither really kept the record ; they just liked to mention all the backflips and efforts in order to reach where they were now.

It felt like years already with countless events and affairs both had gone through, because lot of things had happened ever since they began the day of police officer together. Nick couldn't quite make out the right numbers, and neither did Judy.

And neither really heeded.

The days weren't black and white anymore. They were rainbows, a multitude of thousand colors adorning every minutes, every hours of the time passed.

"Ready for another day, Nick?"

"Another day, another month."

And up to the unknown number destiny had set their lifespan.


	31. Marriage(?)

Apparently, today was another sunny day. The calm breeze, luminous light from the cheerful sun and the occupied city of Zootopia ran along the time. Pedestrians greeted one another and drivers patiently obeyed the street rules and waited for the red light. Peaceful city defined the current Zootopia, and it was hard to think that any crimes would occur at the moment.

Judy and Nick chose to patrol on their feet instead of on their cruiser. The weather was too good to miss out, something that they wouldn't have with only sitting lazily on the seat of the car.

The vibrant rabbit hopped constantly on her feet, most of the times gracefully avoided crashing with other mammals walking on the sidewalk. Few yars from her, Nick walked casually and his eyes looked around inspecting every inch of the city, having being left far from his partner.

Judy took a halt and glanced back, waving at the fox.

"Come, Nick!" her paw gestured him to go faster if her voice didn't reach him because the distance, in which the fox complied and in seconds, he was right before her.

"Right behind you boss!" Nick greeted and saluted playfully. They strolled side by side slowly, watching their surrounding with keen eyes and sharp instinct.

"You should begin to consider taking the lead." Judy spoke and looked back right into his eyes. Nick brought his paw up in defense, gesturing his refusal on the suggestion as if non verbally saying ' _no, I didn't do that.'_

"Oh, should I? No, I shouldn't." Nick rhetorically remarked, his words filled with obvious sarcasm. "I'm just a junior." the fox reminded her of the fact that it was still his early year in the department.

"True," the bunny chuckled and while walked, scribbling something on her note. "But most of the times, females follow the males." Judy flippantly replied, her eyes fixed right at the paper and pen.

"Getting sexism, aren't we?" Nick sneered playfully and lightly flinched when Judy stopped abruptly and her shoulder hit his belly. Grumbling to no one, Nick's comment continued. "Nah. I posses no leadership, so here you are."

"Honestly?" Judy shook her head but was pleased with the compliment. The bunny placed the note back in her tiny purse attached on her side, but the pen remained within her grasp. "Well, there are few occasions where _that_ strictly applies." she leered over her shoulder, her ears swaying on the breeze softly.

"Example given?" Nick asked, scratching his elbow. He was less enthusiastic with the topic but decided to go along for her sake.

"I don't know…" Judy held a sigh and tucked her carrot pen to her pocket. Without looking at her partner, she spoke unconvincingly. "Marriage, maybe?"

Nick halted.

It took three steps for Judy to notice and she glanced back at the fox. That snout of his formed a devious smirk with his back row of teeth showing, snide remarks ready to escape from it.

"Was that a proposal?" his characteristic masculine voice came up as the vulpine walked to her, both paws clasped behind his back.

"No," Judy smiled on him, having to look up due to their height difference. Nick already stopped right before her, his shadow loomed over her entire body. Part of her felt safe, but some others became slightly uncomfortable. Nick threw her a questioning look as if silently asking her to think over her reply.

She then noticed that he went with past, and not present.

"I mean, yes, formerly," the bunny openly admitted while heaving a sigh. "I did think of it in the past, but not anymore."

Nick's failed attempt to hold him from narrowing his eyes compelled him to make himself look interested with the matter. He slightly crouched down to her eye level, just like what he did on the wet cement event.

"May I ask why?" the fox asked quietly, his voice came out more like a whisper.

"It's just odd," Judy shrugged and as she looked up at him, the fox didn't pay attention but appeared to look around. "I don't think I'm comfortable to talk about it," but Nick clearly didn't bother to listen to her words as he had already walked past her, his paw motioning her to follow him.

"Fine." Judy muttered under her breath and paced closer to her partner.

They went into a more secluded place and ended up on dead-end alley, where the noise around lessened. There were only them under the building's shadow and in between concrete walls. Nick leaned on one side of the wall, his emerald eyes scanned her feature and she understood he was waiting.

Judy inhaled quietly.

"It's just…" she began thoughtfully. "I think we're good just the way we are now and… that's kind of awkward to see us in few years ahead if _that_ happens," the bunny didn't think it would be a good idea to look at him now with her mentioning the sacred affair, so she left her gaze hung low. But Nick cleared his throat, so Judy thought she needed to finish right away. Her face rose, offering him a timid smile. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean any offence but… isn't that… you know, if we are as _thing_ …" she paused frequently, having herself mentally faltered. With a loud sigh, Judy finished. "… feel like against the odds?"

There was a quiet sigh coming _not_ from her. Nick had sensed her worry, and now he was staring intently on her. He ought to assure his partner that it didn't bother him to have her thinking that way, with less intention to ease her uneasiness over the matter.

"And if we are against the odds, why does it matter?" the vulpine had his arm crossed and comforting smile on his face. The sight warmed her as her ears, which were loose before, perked up jovially. Nick then walked up on her, grinning harmlessly. "Unless if _you_ are, then that's the concern."

Judy burst into laughter in appreciation of his primary concern bringing up them as a team, not as a person. "Get yourself a vixen, Nick," she chirped happily, slapping her paw on the air. "I can see you becoming a perfect husband."

"And force me to manage my time for you and my future wife?" Nick's laugh volunteered to lighten up the atmosphere. He snapped his finger and tenderly patted between her ears. "I have to tell you Carrots, I despise one thing, and that thing is _troublesome_."

Judy giggled at both the physical affection he gave her and the ridiculous tone of his remark. "You happen to think that way?"

"Not anymore," Nick calmly replied. As he expected, Judy's violet eyes were set back on him and he had already prepared the best smug grin he could muster. The rabbit's deadpan allowed him to explain further. "I mean, I have tons already in my mind of our job, and marriage will add more heavy weight on both my shoulders and my head."

While rationalizing, he flipped his paws in motion of getting something in and out of his body hurriedly. His body gesture brought Judy to another bliss of pure chortles.

"Alright, I'll drop it off," the rabbit eventually said after her laughs subsided, wiping the corner of her eyes carefully. "I'm worried your tiny head will explode sooner if we keep this up."

"You're the hero, Fluff." Nick snickered and gave her a fist bump.

When Judy turned and began to leave the alley, Nick reached out and gripped her arm.

"No carrot pen, no phone," he listed. "And I'll talk."

The doe questioned herself of why he still wanted to bring up the conversation when she already took the way to end it. Something necessary demanded to make acquaintance, perhaps? Her thought wandered while she fumbled for the stuffs with recording ability and threw both on him.

She could only wait.

"Marriage or not, I'll still have to handle you the same way," before she was able to blink her eyes, Nick had spoken out. The fox's paws secured the items, but his eyes were set on her own, emerald gleaming with mischievousness and hint of fascination. "And you are not dumb bunny, so I suspect you know what I mean."

She didn't know whether to threw a resentful tantrum at him or to bring him closer to dead by hugging him tightly. In the end, neither was taken account.

"It's not _that_ troublesome then." Judy tilted her face, eyes half-lid, challenging him back.

"Exactly," Nick's classical smirk adorned his snout and the fox had resisted her hustling motion. "It becomes problem when _she_ starts to beg for it."

"Nick, I see what you're implying," Judy couldn't bring up her serious face ; his mockeries itched her to her very core, but strangely it was enjoyable. Giggling softly, she concluded. "Very well, we can just simply agree to nullify today's conversation."

Judy clapped twice, snapped on both her paws, and made a wave of paw in X pattern in and out, resembling a gesture something was over.

"As you wish, boss," Nick agreed nonetheless and handed her back the phone and carrot pen. Nudging his partner lightly, he gestured her to go first. "Now let's get back to professionalism, shall we?"

She let her eyes roam over her best friend for the last time before bringing two of her fingers up and then gestured forward, a common body language of 'move out'.

"Roger that, partner."


	32. Thunder

"I hate rain, I hate rain."

The repetitive murmur eventually irked the fox.

"Bragging your hatred won't make it sooner to end," Nick walked up on her and his taller body peered from the curtain. The intensity of the raindrops seemed becoming stronger. "Look, the rain gets even angrier."

"It's not a rain," Judy said, correcting him on his understatement. "It's a hurricane."

Indeed, the loud swoosh indicated it wasn't a simple rain. Even from her room, they could hear the blowing gale that sounded violent enough to leave gashes on one's skins. Nick placed his paw on her shoulder and gently squeezed.

"Well, maybe we should-"

Before his statement was finished, the storm produced raging thunder, cracking and piercing their hearing. Nick naturally shut his eyes, covered his ears and slightly crouched down. When he recovered, the fox quickly closed the curtain with his curiosity of outside's situation had been drowned out of sudden.

"Darn that thunder," Nick strached his head and opened his eyes. "Way too much decibels to handle-" and just then he realized Judy wasn't where she was. "Carrots?"

Looking around, Nick found her cerulean blanket and a visible lump on it right at the corner of the room. Judy must've hidden herself in it, so Nick scooted closer and softly pulled the cover away.

The bunny looked like she had just been going through cavern of horror, with her entire body quivering. Nick frowned deeply, but let himself drop the question of curiosity.

"Hey, it's okay. It's just thunder," he knelt down and carefully caressed her forehead. A realization hit him and Nick wasn't able to hold a mocking smirk. "Don't tell me you have astraphobia?"

"No!" Judy frantically waved her paw, and panicked even more when Nick's smug grin rose. "Nick, I believe it's one of the good time for you to shut up." she barely exclaimed, her voice came low but actually high pitched.

"And won't you have anyone to talk with?" Nick calmly took a seat in front of her, his tail began to wander around and ended on his lap.

"You have a point…" Judy sighed and brushed her limp ears nervously. The bunny raised her gaze and set it on his patient green. "Listen, I don't-"

Another burst of lightning roared albeit wasn't as impressive as the first. But Nick witnessed how it affected Judy that now his partner was cowering and hugging her knee tightly, her ears sandwiched in between as her futile attempts to dispose the loud and boisterous noise.

Black paw reached out. Nick had firmly squeezed her paw, gesturing her to calm down. Judy did stop quivering, and her ears went back behind her head, still droopy as before.

"We have sensitive ears… I guess you've known that." the rabbit spoke. In behalf of lagomorphs, Nick was always impressed with their nature of sharp hearing, able to make out conversation from distance he couldn't. But right now he discovered that actually the natural talent did have a downside.

"I understand," Nick nodded and smiled on her, his other paw went to her back and pulled her closer. "Here."

Nick tenderly set her on his lap, his tail had moved away to give the space. Judy was clearly against any objections and even more, she leaned her back on his chest, sighing contently. The vulpine drummed his fingers on her shoulder, and when Judy noticed him asking permission, she shrugged to permit him. Nick began slowly massaging her shoulder, having the effect took place quickly with Judy's anxiety started to fade.

One more roaring thunder and everything went into total darkness. The electricity went off with the storm going even worse. Instinctively, both began to fumble for their phone for light source without moving from their position, though Nick could still see much better than Judy. Their paws bumped few times with Nick doing it on purpose ; he had already sighted his phone.

"Whoops," the fox murmured. "Better watch your paws, Fluff. I can see in the dark."

Judy chuckled the moment she came to realization of both their position and the current situation. "Nick, is that your best invitation?" her tiny laughter was dispersed by the sound of pouring water on the roof. She looked up, hoping to catch the glimpse of his smirk but wasn't pleased to see only darkness.

"Absolutely no." Nick defended. Just as his words flew, a loud thunderclap blared outside. The fox scooped his phone and brought it to the angle that the light from the phone screen provided enough for Judy's vision to see his face. His identical smirk was followed with a chuckle.

"See, the storm even disapproves." Nick commented flippantly, and the only answer he got was a light uppercut and soft giggle.

Once Judy got her phone, she put it on her lap but was less bothered anymore. She reclined closer to her partner. He was emanating warmth and it was comfortable.

"Are you comfortable?" Judy broke the bubble of silence. Nick narrowed his eyes though he knew Judy couldn't see it.

"Why do you ask?" he replied with a question.

"I feel like I'm going to fall asleep sooner." Judy reluctantly confessed. The lingering darkness gave an environmental challenge for her eyes to keep open. It was hard to stay awake with her feeling safe and comfy in the embrace. Nick even let his tail wrapped around her hip.

"Remind me to bring drug so that the thunders won't bother you," Nick rested his chin on her forehead, her ears splayed away in the process. That way, his jaw was directly on her head that every of his said words sent vibration toward her entire body. "Sedating is supposed to be a good idea, right?"

"Will be much better to cure that sneaky mind of yours first." Judy countered, having to emit a little snarl but sounded more like a failed growl. Both laughed and spent the next of their time entirely listening the cascade, rattling roof and occasional thunderclap.

The darkness around was almost unbearable. Judy awkwardly spun and buried her face on his chest. Nick was aware of her stirring, and he was about to protest when her satisfied sigh went out. Exhaling quietly, Nick chose to stay still, trying to be ignorant but was worried if Judy were to find out his quickened heartbeat.

He hoped just her sense of hearing would just be dulled until the rain stopped.

Within minutes on the embrace, Judy couldn't hold her drowsiness and slowly drifted to sleep, along with Nick's consciousness fading away.

* * *

Stirred from his awkward slumber, Nick jolted awake in alarm. He found himself on Judy's bed, with the mentioned rabbit was nowhere to be seen. The fact that the sound of rushing water had diminished, with the additional fact that her light was turned on had him concluding he was out for a while.

The vulpine went to the curtain and harshly pulled it aside. There were only dribble of raindrops trickled from the rain's leftover and it was enough to confirm his guess.

The last thing he remembered was having Judy close to her and he felt sleepy.

"Morning, fuzzy fox," Judy's usual energetic voice came up behind him. Nick glanced over his shoulder, gawking at the walking rabbit with steaming mugs on both her paws. The aforementioned fox rolled his eyes with her mention of time, since he had spotted the sun going down and he wouldn't be asleep that long. "We're kind of dozed off and I happened to wake up first." she grinned at him with so many expressions he couldn't name it all.

Nick wouldn't want to think how he ended on her bed.

"Well, good news is, the rain is over." he thumbed, gesturing at her window. Judy nodded and handed him the mug with a slight concern on her look.

"The _storm_." she chided.

"Alright geez," Nick accepted the mug but didn't take a sip. Instead, he put it on her desk and stared outside. "It's dark already. I'll better get home."

"And when will I repay that generosity of yours?" Judy placed her paw on his, lightly brushing the dark brown pad. Nick unconsciously pulled his arm away. "Stay for dinner, if you don't mind?" Judy was gazing at him with a look he deciphered as that one which forbade any reluctance.

Nick snickered.

"I'm not hungry, but I know I'm in no position to refuse." the fox glanced away and stared blankly. In split of seconds, he thought he was looking at the photos Judy had attached on the table, but realized he was _thinking._

They sat on the edge of the bed in silent, side by side, losing in trail of thoughts.

The bunny then spoke up, her eyes didn't met his this time.

"Say…"

 _I have a bad feeling,_ Nick thought grimly.

"… I'm starting to like chocolate."


	33. Parenting

A/N : Sorry for the late update. I kind of having meeting until late night.

I noticed that last chapter was a bit unclear, so I wrote few additional lines. And, I wonder why this site is kind of strange. I did update but it did not count as update as the last update was two day ago.

And in this week, I'll be busy to rewrite any possible fixation for the previous chapters, and as well as working on my new story. Stay tuned!

* * *

"Can we cross now?"

"No."

"Can we cross now?"

"No, buddy."

"Can we-"

"Wait until it turns green."

"So we can cross if it turns green?"

Nick slapped his face unceremoniously for his locked fate being stuck with a kit, and a quite talkative one. His patrol with Judy ended up with a crying kit at the supermarket, saying that he had lost his way during his break away. They agreed - no, Judy agreed - to split up ; Judy went back to department to submit the report and see if his parents were there after having a little interrogation of the kit's basic information including name and address, and Nick accompanied the lost kit to cheer him up and possibly walked him home if the kit happened to know the way.

The red fox had succeeded in making the wail ended, but Nick didn't take account of what would happen if the kit stopped crying.

And he soon found the answer, right now and right there. His paw had firmly gripped the kit's smaller paw to make sure he didn't escape and start a chaos in the peaceful city. Well, that might be a bit exaggerating, but right now Nick's first hatred became _dealing with kits_. Curse Judy and her miserable escape to leave him on his own.

"Uh huh." Nick nodded and his sunglass slid down covering his eyes, in which he dealt by lifting it up again.

The smaller mammal, a young arctic fox with black ears almost in similar size as adult Finnick, squirmed under the strong grip and huffed in protest.

"What if I paint it green? We can cross without waiting?" the kit asked more as he pointed at the traffic light and made brushing motion with the paw.

"Buddy," Nick's ears twitched as he bent down and gently patted the white fox's forehead. There was a snicker escaped from his snout despite his growing ire over the _talking machine_. "That's a good idea, but how can you go up there?" he smirked once he mentioned the height of the traffic light.

"I'm a good climber!" the kit claimed in pride, and began to look around. Nick suspected he aimed for a tree only to prove to the red fox of his capability.

"Oh I see," Nick went to his full height and smirked at his next words. "But you shouldn't try, otherwise this handsome officer will arrest you."

The kit didn't look amused with the remark and puffed his cheeks. That was adorable, in Nick's honest opinion.

"For what? I'm helping people who want to cross the road!" he naively countered which Nick found it rather odd of finding himself unable to resist the urge to laugh.

"There's this one great thing called patience, Sol," Nick chuckled while crouching on the kit's eye level, his paws on the shoulders with supporting gesture. "You should learn some."

"Patience is virtue, bullshit." the arctic fox, Sol as his nickname, spat casually as if the words were commonly used.

"Hey, watch your snout!" Nick warned, bringing one digit in admonishment and lowered it on the kit's level.

"You taught me that!" Solavt defended himself and shot back a look on the bigger fox.

Well, he did shout that phrase on Judy back then, of her trashy reasons to take off from him. Nick grimaced and mentally noted to talk it to his parents about his short but bad influence and would ask them to keep their eyes better for this handful kit.

If Judy were there, she would clearly see through his mind and openly say that he himself was just as handful as a kit.

"Did I? No, I didn't," Nick flipped his paws, dismissing the heated conversation and holding the snowy paw again with a squeeze. The light had switched to green. "Okay bud, we can go now."

And just as how fast Sol's curiosity rose and his temper changed, the arctic fox's speed on running through the throng was way faster.

"Hooray!" the kit exclaimed happily and ran along the zebra cross, with the poor officer being pulled in the excitement.

And no, no playing parents for the rest of his life.

The thought of becoming a _real_ one? No, not at the moment.

He needed to discuss the matter with Judy first.


	34. Staring

It was 10 AM and two different species and different soul in the same room were dealing with their own concern.

"Care to help me find our destination tomorrow?" Nick called out from the couch. The vulpine had been busy searching for good place to drop in for their weekend. The sun had made its way up to the horizon, and the day would be hotter if Nick's decision was yet to be determined. Saturday would be Nick's choice, while Sunday belonged to Judy's. Even so, they commonly discussed together so that no one was brought against their will. This month was generally a lazy one where no new places on the newspapers and they were also lazy to think, so most of their weekends ended on a certain park while carrying picnic box.

No, Nick had enough. He would put some effort _not to_ go there anymore.

Judy sat farther at the dining table with a mug of green tea and potato fries, her eyes were fixated on the magazine she held to the point that her foods were almost untouched. It appeared to be the fashion magazine, and Judy's feature brightened with each page she skimmed through. Nick had to clear his throat loudly to gain her attention, and when he finally threw a glance of hope on her and she was aware of it, the rabbit put down her magazine and drummed her fingers on her cheek.

"South Park?" Judy suggested half-heartedly. Part of her enjoyed the vivid green park and the various greeneries offered there, but another part convinced her to think of something else since that it would make their sixth visit this month.

"Again?" Nick's eyelid went half shut in boredom. Judy had expected his answer though, and as her response, she crossed her arms and frowned.

"That's my help. And it's still completely up to you, dear." she cocked her head innocently. Nick swore he saw her eyebrows furrowed up and down in mocking pattern.

"Fine," Nick went back to his phone and grumbled. Nevertheless, he soon wore his smug grin already. "Make good brunch and I won't vote against it."

Nick was expecting Judy to counter his remark with anything related with 'best cooks' or 'veggies picnic', yet strangely, no words were heard. When he turned back, a pair of violet eyes were directed right into his eyes.

The fox completely spun rested his chin on the backrest and smirked, having to think this would be one of their little game. Since their first encounter, Nick's top five favorite color had changed ; purple went to fourth place. It still was not the first, but the fondness was real. However, that purple set on him now was not even close to what he liked. It lacked of light and joyful glint ; her eyes were simply blank, expressionless and unreadable. They regularly traded a game of eye-staring where the first to blink or break off would lose, but this time Nick found himself fidgeting under her watch. It felt like her eyes had somehow pried anything inside him.

Or maybe she was daydreaming?

Within Nick's view, there was his particular bunny partner without much difference but firm gaze on him. Within Judy's vision, Nick's emerald irises slightly shrunk and there was a very little change of his breathing.

The inside of his snout felt dry, yet he failed to try to open his jaw, which felt like tightly shut and locked. No more than half a minute, Nick exhaled forcefully.

"Carrots." the fox swiped his tail, the tip breaking their eye contact with a black blur. Judy's eyes flickered but instead of shifting her gaze, she remained unfazed. Nick frowned and took another sort of defense. "You're _staring_." Nick said and shielded his eyes for a split of seconds, and after his paws left his snout, the vulpine found Judy's eyes no longer wondered on him. Instead, his eyes met with her smiling at him.

"Oh, I must've lost in thought," the bunny let out a small laugh and closed her eyes. Her paw rested on her forehead and slowly went to brush her ears."I've trapped beneath a verdant sanctum of serenity and now I seek for my savior to restore my sanity out of my fantasy."

Unlike her usual cliché exchanges, a heavy tease like this was once in a blue moon. Nick found it was stupid to deny Judy's boast of her unbeatable supremacy in term of theatricals. The way she composed sentences with deep words and brought it with marvelous intonation ceased any doubts.

She was too darn proficient, Nick admitted, and this was one of the time he wouldn't, and _couldn't_ dare to pull any quips. So all he could do was only sighing and presenting his sheepish smile, one that Judy found quite adorable.

"You like me so much, don't you?"

The response of defeat nearly caused Judy to scream her lungs out. Did he really fall for it?

Or maybe he faked the act just for her sake. Either way, Nick didn't look like he was fooling around yet Judy could never tell. Safe to say between two of them, there would only be a tiny score difference of theatre's excellence.

"I _don't_ answer that," while replying, one of her eyes squinted on him, like someone's aiming for a prey. The next thing the fox knew, an honest smile already adorned her face and her voice was smooth and soft. "Because you don't need it."

The said answer dwelled in their cruiser, lingering in every of their patrols consisting with gleeful chortles, mockeries and rebuttals, and all the more to prove that she wasn't _lying_.


	35. Photo

Finishing an early jogging before going to work, Nick and Judy ended in the restroom and decided to shower and change there. When the plan of morning exercise came up, they had stored their spare uniform and other necessary clothes the previous day. Judy reached the office first, so she wasted no time and quickly start the cleaning up and when she went out all clean and perfectly suited, Nick's slightly tired appearance stepped in. With a sharp gasp and a grin, he began to ready himself for the day.

"Hold them for a sec, will you?" Nick shoved her his phone and wallet and began to stroll to the male locker room."I'll be back before you realize it." with the assuring statement went out, the fox was out of her sight already.

She walked out and waited outside, her back leaning on the wall with a support from one of her leg. Killing the time and getting rid of her boredom in waiting at the same time, Judy chose to rummage on Nick's wallet.

Beside his savings and various ID Cards, in the compartment right at the front, Nick stored a photo. It was quite a small one, with him in act of saluting and was clad in his police uniform, the badge on his chest shone delightfully reflecting the sun's ray. Judy slipped her paw and took the photo, examining it closely. The more she looked, the more she became aware of how precious it was for him at tha time of his graduation.

She went too absorbed with the discovery that the rabbit didn't hear the door opened behind her.

"No stealing, Carrots," Nick suddenly appeared and gracefully snatched back his belonging from her over her shoulder, except for the photo Judy held. "I'm in short of money now." the fox's mockery went to the point he actually took his time to count the amount stored in his brown wallet, confirming the unchanged sum.

Nick quickly recognized something was missing from his wallet, and when he looked back at her, Judy was giving him a snicker.

"You look really good that time." Judy mused with her lips wrinkled into a smile, her paw carefully traced the small photo.

"I suppose I'm looking good _anytime_ ," a proud smile, though it would be accurate if put as cocky smirk, was visible on his face. "And honestly, I've told you it's almost impossible to resist fox's charm."

Judy pretended she didn't pay a mind on his hubris. "Keep bragging, slick. I'm _not_ listening."

Nick scooted closer silently and clamped the other side of photo free from her paw with his thumb and index finger. Whenever he playfully gave a try to pull it from her, Judy's resisting and deadly grasp failed him.

He couldn't deny the amusement to see Judy's bright smile, but wasn't entirely against the idea to resort anything in order to reclaim his most valuable stuff.

"You've made me that, Fluff." he whispered once his snout had made its way inches away from her ears.

"Don't even think to start a waterfall of tears." the doe warned without looking up on him, drowning any chances of the fox to retell the story of the beginning of their magnificent partnership.

"Yeah, considering you're an emotional bunny, I revoke my intention." Nick gave up and let Judy had the photo for herself. He went to put his wallet on his pocket, brushing his untidied furs, and was fixing his tie when Judy suddenly asked.

"Did you… regret it?"

The odd question nearly sent Nick shouting on her face of why he would _regret_ it. In fact, the day fate decided for them to meet was the first time he started to believe someone when priorly, he would forever trusted only him own prejudice. Who expected that a simpe encounter turned the tide of his life.

If she were trying to remind him of his past life with $200 a day, Nick would dismiss the thought. In eternity, he believed that friends and faiths were priceless treasure which could not be obtained by a mere hustle.

So, his answer was spoken.

"Yes,"

Judy's heart skipped a beat and a visible frown took over her countenance, a look of clear disbelief forced Nick to snicker to get her surprised expression fade ; Nick's statement was far from done.

"Yes for actually having almost twenty years waiting for the right person."

 _Should've been way earlier_ was left unsaid, because Nick thought it was better that way.

It became real for Judy that she had held breath until the confirmation took place. The bunny exhaled deeply, his antic had gotten the best of her. She chuckled, tossing a crumpled paper to his snout which he nimbly evaded by taking a step back.

"Polished as always." Judy half frowned and half smiled, adoring his subtle remark yet cursing him for his cunning wit.

"Smooth and sneaky, like a fox." Nick cheerfully added and with the tip of his tail, he brushed Judy's paws.

She did not move her eyes away from the photo for another minute, and it worried the fox of their remaining time to get to the role call.

Just when Nick let himself paying no care and made up his mind to walk away, Judy squeaked.

"Can I have this too?"

Nick smirked wryly, his tail wagged happily behind him. He had been expecting the request.

"Of course," he made a gesture of open paw, generally asking her to give her something in return. "In trade with yours."

The bunny grimaced.

"On second thought, I'd rather not have the trade off."

But Nick was persistent.

"Now I'm curious. Tell me, was that photo of yours not as fancy as mine?" the fox drawled as they began to walk together to the bullpen, with Nick had had back his photo.

"Nah, I don't think you'll like it." Judy's answer came to a dead end.

Oh, but Nick didn't really think he wouldn't like it. And for his bet, Judy wouldn't dislike his exceptional approaches to find it out either.

No one would like to make a fox curious.


	36. Diary

**_Page 1 of 57_**

 _Dear diary,_

 _I met a scoundrel. He was, ugh, very nasty and tricky. I was tricked by his foolish drama (and I realized I was way foolish than him to get baited on it) and he talked too much like a dog barking in a leash._

 _But…._

 _I felt like some of his words were true._

 _Who was this Nicholas Wilde?_

 _Blessed me for having my first day ruined by just a certain sneaky mammal. I don't know how tomorrow will go and I'm afraid it will be worse than today.  
_

* * *

 ** _Page 2 of 57_**

 _Dear diary,_

 _I messed up today._

 _…_

 _I lost another fight, yet I don't know how to fight again._

 _I lost him._

 _We had been dealing with_ _ **my**_ _issue for almost 48 hours straight, and I did find out he was more than just a gruesome prejudice of a fox. He helped me in everything, accompanying me even though it was first just a lucky shot I figured out to make use of him._

 _I… I thought we could be a great partner, but I completely ruined the chance. Just that freaking speech, I hate speech, I would forever hate speech._

 _…._

 _I don't know how to get to him again. Medias have me in my tails and I still have to work on my report tomorrow._

 _I don't like this. Why all the praise go only on me when we did it together? I must find a way to bring him back and tell everyone that I have a very trustful partner, which ironically was a fox most mammals distrusted the most._

 _I'm in great uncertainty now, and I can feel my eyes getting hot. I should stop writing now._

* * *

 ** _Page 4 of 57_**

 _Dear diary,_

 _I have enough heartache today._

 _I resigned._

 _All I did was hurting a friend I just made, and with only few mistakes in words, starting a chaos in the peaceful Zootopia._

 _I couldn't bear to see myself as a police anymore._

 _Maybe…_

 _Maybe it was a mistake to come here, at the beginning?_

* * *

 ** _Page 11 of 57_**

 _Dear diary,_

 _We finally reunite after months. Together, we unfold the truth beneath the conspiracy. With Nick, we work together to collect every evidences and it turns out Night Howler is a plant and someone named Duke manipulates it to create serum that causes a mammal to go savage when get hit by it! And astonishingly, Bellwether is the traitor! I don't believe it, she helped us during our time to find for the vanishing Mr. Manchas!_

 _You'll laugh when I tell you how clever Nick was. He had overseen everything to the point he let us getting tackled down, switching the serum with blueberries he happened to bring along from my truck, and purposely taking a hit from Mayor Bellwether ( well, she wasn't Mayor anymore xD ). Then we had another drama, staring me and him together. Funnily, we made it sort like my theatrical performance when I was nine, of course with my wit utilized during making the plan._

 _And I can care less with the savage things. I have Nick back after 3 months drowning in guilt. I didn't know how on earth he could forgive me that easy, and darn, he even toyed me on my emotional state._

 _What an interesting fox to be a partner…_

* * *

Mix of emotions surged inside the bunny as her paw stopped skimming at the last page. Judy sniffed and shook her head, her paw holding the book was slightly trembling.

She rarely wrote diary, only on special occasion. Well, at her first time on work, she planned to write everything on the book for a reminder when she had aged way in the future. But Judy only filled the first few pages and the rest was empty. Between the last page and the first four were mostly her ranting of guilt and desperation throughout her time after moving back to Bunnyburrow. Reading her memories back then gave a chilling sensation, yet unusual warmth overtook the cold.

Judy assumed that after Bellwether's crime came to an end, she lived a life good enough to perfectly remember and did not need a diary to write the memories on it.

Well, especially with Nick by her side.

That being said, today Nick was strangely absent without informing her the previous day. The fox did request an urgent leave to Chief Bogo and even asked him to keep the matter from her. Of course Judy discovered that Nick told the chief, but she couldn't tell more with Bogo kept refusing to spill the matter.

Putting the diary on her drawer, Judy snatched her phone and began to text.

It had been a while since her last time writing one.

 _"Dear Nick,_

 _Because of your missing presence, I get several lectures from Chief, I had to endure the humdrum patrol for the whole day, grabbing lunch on my own, stupidly buying two vanilla pies with the thought that you were waiting at the table with green and blue umbrella (our fancied one) and the moment I remembered, that was hilarious. I only ate one while I brought the other to pass on Clawhauser._

 _Anyway, Francine got a new board game. And yeah, you clearly didn't need me to tell you it was big, almost as big as me. I thought Chief was going to reprimand her for bringing it to the bullpen, but rather, he actually took part in the game! You should've come to witness his stupefied face whenever he was the only one with the remaining pawns! Boy that was really unexpected._

 _I caught a sight of arctic fox in the subway on my way back. Her fur were like snow, and she wore pretty grayish arm-band on both her paws. I should've talked and asked her number for you, haha :)) blazing fire and chill ice will make a good pair, don't you think?_

 _I hoped whatever caused you to take your leave would be worth it. I suffered much than you thought I would – correct, that was exaggerating. Please call me when you got back home as soon as possible, okay?_

 _Sleep tight wherever you are! Don't be afraid to call me if your sleep has yet to come."_

If the technology weren't as advanced as now, Judy's message would split into separate messages, but the chat application allow her to write more than 1000 words at one time so it was sent completely.

The rabbit put down her phone and planned to take a shower while waiting for Nick's reply. She believed Nick, no matter what, and if Nick wanted to keep something away from her, then she would respect his decision by not asking the concern he was dealing currently.

Minutes later, the fresh and energized Judy plopped on the bed with the phone on her paw. There was a reply already from Nick. Judy swiftly opened the text.

 _"Well good news Carrots, Nick here will be your new diary book."_

The sarcasm couldn't be better. Judy giggled while typing her answer.

 _"I hope not,"_ she entered, and wrote another line. _"You don't plan to stay away from me longer than a day, right?"_

Only a short pause, and her phone already rang.

 _"Presumably,"_ Nick's reply said. Had he been here, he would've scratched his chin thoughtfully. There was another message coming. _"If something holds me here, I may have to leave you alone a little bit longer."_

Judy grumbled.

 _"You dare not."_ the thud of her soft pad tapping the screen sounded furious enough.

 _"That's out of my control, Fluff."_ Nick's text came innocently. But Judy was certain far there, Nick had a clear grasp of her wrecking emotion now despite not showing it with stickers, emoticons, or change of habit on her texts.

The bunny hugged close her soft pillow and slowly texted with only one paw.

 _"You'll be my diary when we are separated like now,"_ she checked the message before tapping the 'send' button. Since her statement was unclear, and Nick seemed to expect her following line with him already happened to read her last text, Judy wrote an explanation.

 _"Why would I tell you how was my day when you were tagged along all the time?"_

No longer than three seconds of her sending the text, her phone buzzed with Nick's reply already received.

 _"Point taken,"_ Nick used a winking emoticon on his text. Her screen showed that he was texting another message. _"Then allow me to write_ ** _with_** _you."_

Nick sent her a sticker of a figure of character offering the hand in the manner of requesting a dance. Judy laughed at his misused sticker, nevertheless found herself greatly delighted with the effort.

She typed only two words.

 _"Permission given."_


	37. Hot

"For once in my lifetime, I wish we were tasked on paperwork instead of _this_."

Patrolling around the city became their daily routine, but with their cruiser temporarily taken away for extra vehicle on guarding the ministers advent, both were obliged to walk.

But the day was crazy hot.

The duo constantly stopped under the awnings, their sole getting hurt by the heated concrete which almost felt like a frying pan. The shadow covered them from direct sun's ray, but the radiating heat still lingered so taking a brief rest was actually not a good idea either.

Nick's neck stretched as far as he could, panting slightly with the tip of his tongue sought for a breeze. Walking next to him, Judy wasn't in far better shape. Her ears narrowed down as a futile attempt to cover her face from the merciless sun.

"Ditto…" the peevish bunny vowed her agreement. "Today's headline should be _'Zootopia get scorched by hellfire'_."

Nick hopped on his feet alternately, a chuckle escaped on Judy's humorous remark. But in fact, the doe did not even have it crossed her mind as a joke.

"Come on," Judy grumbled a protest, jumping on her feet as well. That way, they got their _spare_ feet a very quick rest before getting burnt again on the scorched earth. "This is utterly ridiculous."

Keeping out like this would only lead them to faint right away. Nick gulped his dry jaw and looked around. Fortunately, there was a minimarket just few meters away.

"Let's grab some drink and take a rest." Nick flatly said and began trotting along the sidewalk toward the shop. Judy followed close behind, snickering in advance.

"I was hoping you say that."

Pushing the glass door open, they stepped in straightforwardly. Had there been another customers on the way out, they would've bumped in the lack of courtesy.

One thing mattered ; it wasn't hot anymore.

"Fwah," with arm stretched wide and jaw opened wide attempting to inhale the cool air as much as possible, the vulpine squealed in satisfaction. "This is paradise."

But Judy was nowhere to be seen. Nick let her doing the favor and sluggishly dragged himself to the closest air conditioner. There, he stayed still, getting his face blown by the chilling breeze, a childish smile painted his face.

While the fox was selfishly relaxing, Judy had set down two can of lemonade already on the cashier. She rejected the plastic bag ; they would've swallowed the drink in seconds anyway.

Padding to the exit, Judy halted when she spotted Nick at the corner. Watching his adorable posture from the back compelled her to giggle and she slowly approached him. Luckily, the store was quite empty so no one would bother them.

The bunny nudged and handed him the can, which Nick took hastily. In less than ten seconds, loud gulping sound and contented exhale resulted with two emptied cans ready to be thrown away. But neither wanted to move, so the cans were still held in respective paw.

They just stood still, both face brought up enjoying the breeze.

"We can't just lounge around, though." Judy's out of sudden reminder broke the moment. Nick's grip tightened on the can, the poor thing started to get crushed.

"I know," Nick sighed. His eyes wandered around the store and when a certain stuff caught in his vision, he smiled. "I think we should bring umbrellas next time…"

"Heh," Judy had followed his gaze and mused her disagreement. "Not that tomorrow's going to be as hot as today."

"Better to be safe than sorry." the fox replied and checked his phone for the time.

Surprisingly, they had spent almost their entire lunch break there, even with their early start. Judy noticed his concern and in a flash vanished from his sight. A moment later, she showed up with a bag of jam-filled breads and bottles of cold water. They would eat their lunch somewhere else, not wanting to cause a mess in store with them already idling there for a long time.

"We should get going." Judy gave his tail a soft kick and walked to the door. The tone did not need an answer, Nick recognized the authoritative air. The fox reluctantly began to catch up his partner and stopped right at the door.

In horror, Nick saw the world they were about to venture as desolate desert and three suns revolving in parallel.

He was beginning to reconsider if the heat had somehow vaporized his brain.


	38. Night Melody

A/N : If I remember correctly, putting musical lyric is violating the rule, am I wrong? It feels wrong though without the lyric, but anyway, please just enjoy.

* * *

Weekend night brought joy everywhere in the city with dim street lights and loud chit-chat in most corners. The freedom of time repelled any common sense going to sleep early, and encouraged many to have fun until the clock buzzed thrice as a reminder of midnight.

Wrapped in her light blue hoodie, Judy tiptoed the stairs to the rooftop carefully. The bunny glanced at her phone, and it told her it was almost 10 PM. Another sleepless night, but Judy never found herself against the idea. She supposed letting the steam off from weekday works would help, specifically when her partner was present too. She could hear a faint voice coming up there, and when she opened the door with a loud clank, her suspicion was answered.

Her partner was there, sitting alone with his back on her, a guitar was his one and only company which he held close. The fox was currently crooning and focusing on his guitar, ignoring the world around him.

"Nick?" she called.

The music, consisting of hum of lyric and guitar, came to a halt. The lone mammal with the name peered over his shoulder and threw a grin.

"Hello there, Carrots," Nick greeted with paw waving toward her, his other paw holding the guitar steady. He patted the outdoor mat he was sitting on. "Come please."

The makeshift establishment was poorly organized. The basket full of snacks was used as to weigh the mat down so that the wind wouldn't blow it off. Nick sat close at the other end, in which Judy had herself settled between the fox and the foods.

"Were you asking me to be your private audience?" Judy snorted playfully and wondered how Nick could see his fingers to play the guitar with only moonlight's guide. But foxes were gifted with night vision, the same quality Nick had written on his form back then, so Judy's question needed no answer.

"Exactly," Nick held a digit and chortled. "Though this greenhorn would like to forwardly apologize," he glanced aside and brought a sheepish grin on his countenance, which in a flash shifted into naughty smirk. "This bewitching fox doesn't play music often, so there's a chance the show may cloy you."

"Well," Judy's response denoted the concern didn't even cross her mind ; something instead was nagging there. She drew a breath and laughed. "I'll be blunt. Even _if_ your voice fails to amaze me…" trailing off, Judy ensured herself to take another good look on her partner. "… honestly, you look good already with that guitar. I think you should start a street band."

"Ah, another victim of my irresistible charm," Nick appeared unfazed and nonchalantly answered. "And no, music is special and special things ought to be kept for special person."

"Look at you and your flatteries." Judy put her balled paw on her hips and wore her own casual smirk."You've been improving, huh?"

"All the more to bring you down." even within the dark, the bunny didn't miss his wink.

"Unfortunately, they keep me up, you know." Judy deliberately missed out the metaphor and pretended to take it literally.

"Yeah," the fox shrugged, his finger danced around the string. A low strum briefly resonated, distracting both attention. Nick solely did that in purpose to come up with another jest. "And that's my one and only specialty."

"Dumbass." Judy was unable to resist a laugh.

They sat face to face. Nick's right arm draped over the guitar while the other was employed to hold the chord at certain place to perform different tone. The strum began shortly after Nick cleared his throat, and he began to sing the intro.

Judy tensed slightly listening to his totally different voice. It was generally a little deeper, amazingly fruity yet at some point sounded too gruff. Nevertheless, she found him enticing not to look intently. Furthermore, his eyes were shut as if to unite with the song, his guitar play was simply wonderful with nothing missed out despite him not looking at it.

The whole four minutes quickly vanished. When the song ended with Nick's solo guitar play fading away, Judy clapped her paws gleefully, having enjoying his show-off entirely.

"How is it?" Nick rubbed the back of his head subconsciously. The fox was aware of his mediocre level of strumming and even lower grade of voice, but seeing Judy appreciating it gave him the strong feeling to smile.

"You want an honest answer or untruthful one?" Judy asked jokingly and with a quick move sat next to him already. The rabbit gently elbowed her partner's side, Nick feigned a flinch but failed with laugh came right after.

"Both?" Nick requested.

The doe wasn't surprised with the answer with her already overseen it. She giggled and covered her face with the paw to hold herself from laughing aloud.

"The latter," Judy began between little laughs. "My mind forces me to tell you that no singing in a room with windows otherwise they'll just break apart."

"Oh thanks, Judy's mind!" the fox sarcastically declared his fake gratitude, the cock smirk never fell from his face. Judy chuckled as well, and her face completely changed into an unreadable one.

"The prior…"

"I think I'm infatuated now," she momentarily went silent. _In love_ did not impress her and it sounded odd, so she came up with proper substitute. The rabbit threw her glance away, anything but his sparkling green eyes, and whispered the unfinished statement. "With your charismatic glamour."

Nick was involuntarily stunned and going completely silent, his eyes stared blankly to the murky horizon. The fox had been dumbfounded almost an entire ten seconds when he eventually lifted his face and snickered pleasantly.

"I'm impressed, priestess." he drummed his finger on the wooden surface, eliciting a knocking sound in implication to shake her from her reverie. In fact, neither made an attempt to look aside. They simply enjoyed the presence of each other in the cold night.

"Encore?" Judy said finally, breaking the comfortable silence.

"If you insist-" Nick skillfully had set his paw back on the chord but a grey blur startled him.

"No," Judy cut him short, her paw snatched a handful of his arm furs, stopping his finger on track."Just sing. Sing for me."

The wooden guitar whined in protest, if given chance and capability, the sooner Nick put it down on the cold floor.

Nick held his face up, eyes fixated on the sky, watching the dazzling stars and smiling. When he inhaled and was about to start, a gentle yank on his tie forced him to look down.

"Huh?"

Despite the darkness, Nick could make out her genuine and enthusiastic smile.

"May I join?"

He couldn't tell if there was something far more better than her plea.

"Sing _with_ me."

Both reveled in lines after lines of mellow lyrics, the distinct difference of pitch and tone were united to create a harmony of melody. The song would abruptly come to an end with a chortles, giggles, and like nothing happened, began again with different song, over and over until moon descended and sun peeked in.

The guitar alone served as the only witness to watch how two close friend were bound in unquestionable partnership, the endless hymn vocalized their heart content in unison. Cheerful, merry vibe accompanied the silent night and neither paid any mind if someone had heard them.

Anyone would only hear the hoarse voice, one which seemed rather unpleasant. But none could feel the abundant emotions beneath the chants.


	39. Pick Up

"I'll pick you up in twenty."

Nick's voice buzzed from Judy's phone. They planned to go shopping – originally it was Judy's plan to get new clothes – but when the bunny remembered that Hawaiian green shirt Nick commonly wore compelled her to bring him along as well. He would need better clothes than his usual attire.

The vulpine did no objections, to Judy's bewilderment, and since he was free and too lazy to come up with undeniable reasons, he chose to tag along.

"Alright." Judy replied, and the call ended afterward.

The grey bunny watched a comedy movie while killing the time waiting for her partner. Her phone had been set next to her laptop to make sure she wouldn't miss his text.

Time flew fast with fine supply of jokes and jests. It was then when Judy's ears went straight upon hearing two loud knocks followed with three soft thuds. She rarely missed footsteps, that was why she felt astonished someone managed to get to her door without her noticing and anticipating it earlier.

Then again, the pattern of the knock was _their_ term of agreement, assuring her who was at the other side of the door.

"You should've waited outside." Judy said behind the door even before opening it. When she did and found familiar fox with lime green shirt, black and purple striped tie and khaki pant, she couldn't say she was surprised.

"Well, you are lacking appreciative manner, Fluff." Nick pointed out flatly with his emerald eyes shone with glint of slyness. He spent his next minute to examine her appearance. Nothing appeared distinct from her pink blouse and simple jeans except for the sunflower pin she had attached at the collar.

"Thank you for escorting me, handsome." Judy scoffed unenthusiastically.

"My pleasure, milady." Nick bowed gracefully in reply.

Without saying another word, both of Nick's arm reached out and when Judy blinked her eyes, she wasn't standing on her feet.

"What are you thinking you're doing?" Judy's protest rang aloud with her already within his arms, carried in bridal style.

"I'm doing what I said." Nick casually replied as if his recent demeanor was deemed irregular.

"We did no talk about fooling around, as I perfectly recall." the bunny fidgeted uncomfortably. Performing a double kick to his face crossed her mind, but right now she decided to go cool over it.

"I must insist you to interpret the text carefully," Nick's eyes stared right into hers. Within her sight, his lips curled up to an arrogant smirk. "You're not a dumb bunny, right?"

Judy fumed in fake anger and crossed her arms. Despite the unexpected event, she scrambled through her memory.

 _I'll pick you up in twenty._

Judy focused more on the verb.

"Oh…" when the awareness surfaced, Judy's knuckle landed on Nick's chin. The uppercut forced him to retract his snout. "Douche!" Judy exclaimed aloud, internally resisting the strong urge to laugh.

"Ouch!" the fox groaned, but the hit never faltered the strong arms holding the bunny. He couldn't rub the sore spot though with both his paws were occupied. So what he did to pester her more was to stare into her eyes.

"How long will we keep this?" Judy muttered to no one in particular. Sadly, a pair of fox's ears still worked quite well.

"Till you feel awkward and desire to move around?" Nick generously offered the idea.

Awkward didn't sound wrong, but _struck in confusion of his drastic change of behavior to the point that she couldn't think of it and was left indecisive whether to knock him back to his sense or just flow with the current_ was more accurate.

"I mean, you can just break free anytime," Nick glanced away, purposely giving her a space to hop off, which she did. The weight was lifted, he sighed involuntarily. "And honestly, I'm kind of confused you haven't done it earlier." the vulpine held a very proud smirk but the gesture irritated her so much she wanted to rip it off from his face.

"Let's just say we savor the moment," Judy replied while dusting off her clothes. This was another hustle war so she wouldn't give up. "And same trick won't work twice, slick." the bunny swagged her finger while letting a challenging smirk cover up her face.

"I wonder…" Nick drawled back and drew his finger to ruffle the fur at his head.

There was a mischievous smile adorning Judy's beaming face. A beam of malicious mockery.

"Unless you're planning to make it official."

Nick blinked upon realizing the exchange had turned out to be slightly out of boundary. Worrying less and intending to not give in, the fox worked with his charm by pretending he wasn't bothered with her reply and examined his paw with no interest.

"Are you hoping?" the question escaped from Nick's jaw sounded more like an insinuation. Nevertheless, Judy was inclined to make an answer otherwise Nick would feel cocky and push her off her patience limit.

"Nah," she shrugged and shook her head softly, her ears flew aside briefly. Then a chuckle came up. "Whoever ends up with you may despair in hell."

Nick guffawed, slapping his thigh in response. "Including yourself?" he smirked, showing the back row of his teeth.

They walked along the hall, their eyes still locked in each other, each guessing what Judy's next line would be.

"Presumably," Judy eventually admitted openly with a terse laugh. She wouldn't let Nick win though, and so the brilliant reply was born. "But I'm bunny from hell."

And no further explanation needed, with both of them began to laugh endlessly.


	40. Ice Cream

Normally on their patrol, Judy would be occupied with the driving while Nick watched the surrounding. Most of the times Nick would just loaf around without having sighted any possible crimes, so the trouble was all on the bunny.

Especially when snacks were brought along.

A moment ago, they had made a stop on the ice cream store. Putting the neatness of the cruiser on top of their priority resulted with Nick buying the cup ice cream instead of the cones. Even so, Judy would be unable to dig in her portion before they made a long stop, which in their agenda was back at the ZPD central office.

Nick, on the other side, was far more convenient than Judy as the fox had been savoring almost a quarter of his cup in just a couple of minute.

"Are you willing to share?" Judy requested after a while. She was fond of ice cream just as much as Nick loved it.

"No." Nick shortly refused. Another spoonful of sweet dairy launched to his open jaw, with the vulpine munching in bliss.

"I expect no rejection." Judy stated, not letting her eyes away from the street. If she were, her eyes would only meet with pair of mocking eyes and a smug smirk.

"Then stay with your expectation," Nick shot back, both of the mentioned traits was clearly visible on his countenance. "The world is cruel, darling." he gulped the cold dessert and whined in delight.

"Whatever." the rabbit gave up and pretended she was on the car alone _without_ her irritating partner.

That would've worked, if Nick hadn't begun to deliberately make noisy slurping sound with each of his motion.

"Nick!" Judy almost shouted and even briefly let her paw off the wheel to pull her ears in irritation. "For God's sake, you're doing it on purpose!"

"And?" the mammal in question casually inquired, his antics started to wore down her patience limit.

"Gimme that!" Judy boldly reached out, almost snatching the cup but Nick was faster to fall back and reclining close to his seat. His paws guarded the cup as he snorted in glee.

Judy was about to make second attempt before a loud horn startled both. Their banter apparently had the cruiser lost balance and went slightly off the road. She quickly regained her composure and went back to rationalistic driving, though internally cursed herself for being so careless.

"Whoa, Carrots," Nick mumbled aloud. His grip on the plastic cup was firm to ensure nothing dribbled out. "I still want to live my life, for your information."

"Unfortunately," the bunny replied, her breath remained unstable for a while after the occurrence. She gritted her teeth, sinking further in growing annoyance. "You never know how and when destiny chooses to end your life," the bunny made sure the road was empty for few meters ahead before glaring on her right side. "And I won't mind to serve as the executioner in case your death is destined on _car accident_."

"Now you're starting to become lunatic." Nick grimaced. His longing for the ice cream was deducted by the heart-shocking event.

"And what's better than getting driven by a lunatic rabbit, aware of the circumstance, but still intentionally rousing her annoyance?" Judy failed to lessen her voice and she was aware her fuming appearance was obvious for him.

"Hmm," from the corner of her eyes, Judy watched Nick ran the spoon along the side of his snout. A smirk then formed on the said muzzle. "I'll opt for longer life so that I can enjoy ice cream more."

"Then stop it." Judy grumbled loudly, tapping her fingers impatiently on the wheel. Nick chuckled and decided not to push it further _that way_.

"Mm hmm." he mumbled the agreement. Almost the rest of their drive was then spent in silent.

It was, until Nick's pad brushed her forearm. At first, Judy paid no heed at the gesture. But after several tries, she gave up and glanced aside.

A spoonful of ice cream was offered on her.

"I'm a generous fox," Nick's smile compelled her to bring out her own smile as well. "Say aaaah." Her partner's cheerful voice rang like a mother feeding her kit.

Having to decelerate in prevention of another incident, Judy found herself anticipating the upcoming desert. However, upon reaching certain point, Nick stopped the spoon for reaching her. Seeing that Nick was up for something with the spoon remained still on the place, Judy took the initiative and slightly pushed herself for the treat. Strangely, as she chewed, there was no sweet taste nor soft texture in her mouth.

Actually, there was nothing.

She had bitten nothing except air.

Nick had retreated his paw away the moment Judy closed her mouth. Right now, the cruiser was filled with seemingly endless satisfied chortles. His barks of laugh were pure of amusement, but turned out to be one which exasperated the bunny. Holding the wheel tightly, she made a quick turn to the left and slammed on the brake as hard as she could, stopping the cruiser at the side of the road.

One of Nick's bad habit was he never set his seatbelt tight. So when part of Judy's revenge was executed, it turned out a huge success. As the innocent passenger was forcibly pushed by the momentum, the cup slipped from his paw and flew on the air, only to land back on his snout. The cup was far from empty, with the rest of the content gracelessly ended at various spot on his snout.

It was her turn now to laugh frantically while constantly pointing him and the laugh got louder.

"Serve you well." she smirked in satisfaction, completely pleased with the result.

Nick sighed, knowing that anything like this would happen according to his calculation. Acknowledging his karma and having him deciding to push on in teasing his partner, he looked himself on the rearview mirror and thought of something.

In the mirror's reflection, Nick spotted a fox in complete mess. But that didn't make his smirk fall as an idea crossed his mind.

"You still want the ice cream?" Nick went to his spoon and scooped the lump on his head, and shamelessly brought it to his mouth, winking at the dumbfounded bunny. "It might taste different though." he smirked and fastened his pace on the repeated action to reduce the amount of gooey substance on his head.

"Nah," Judy found herself less indignant and laughed again when her eyes completely captured the image of Nick with puddle of ice cream trickling his face like getting rained down. "Deal with that on your own."

"Come on, Carrots," Nick hung his shoulder low. He looked pathetic and helpless, and that was what Judy found in her liking. "Help me, please?"

"Boy, the temptation is quite hard to resist," Judy unfastened her seatbelt, faking a motion as if she were about to stand up. But all she did was throwing him a delinquent look and a smile of sweet revenge. "But no."

Despite her rejection, she rummaged the dashboard drawer and fished a napkin. When she brought her attention back to him, Nick was desperately lapping on the side of his snout with the blue sticky liquid cascaded through his thick orange fur.

He looked exactly like a kit playing with crayons, the mess on his face created abstract pattern.

She couldn't help but fetch for her phone and record the moment, at the same time throwing the napkin on him. That would help lessen the mess, but they both understood he must take a shower sooner otherwise the sticky furs would remain longer.

At the very least, the deal was on her favor. She had another blackmail.


	41. Nickname

The apartment was quiet and serene. Judy had turned off the light and laid down on the bed, preparing to go to sleep. Just as she shut her eyes, her phone's screen lightened up. She sluggishly crawled to the drawer and picked the call.

Of course it was her partner out of anyone who bothered to make a call at almost midnight. Nick's sing-a-song tone echoed when she accepted the call.

"Hey Carrots, my Carrots, all the whole farm Carrots~"

"Nick," Judy glared on the phone although her raised voice alone would be enough to tell the fox it didn't amuse her. The drowsiness she was dealing abruptly shifted into what felt like fusion of mild interest and indignation. "I'm turning down the call."

"Sorry," Nick's terse laugh was audible along with his apology. "But you love it, dontcha?"

Judy couldn't hold her snicker.

"Curse you and your charm."

A shuffling sound and apparent noise filled her room afterward. Judy calmly waited for his next line.

"Anyway-" far there, Nick was about to ask about regulation including pedestrians, traffic lights and parking area with him couldn't remember them correctly. But the rabbit had spoken first, shutting off his statement in the process.

"Why don't you work that brilliant brain of yours to come up with something different?"

There was a loud cackle.

"Aha!" Nick's exclamation vividly voiced his amusement. "You've been accustomed for too long you start to feel bored, huh?"

 _Bored_ alone would be enough, and Judy wondered why Nick needed to come up with the whole sentence.

"Kind of it?" the rabbit replied, intonating like she had been questioning herself the whole time.

"I'll consider," Nick's voice softened. "Though it's pretty weird. Normally, such objection seems misplaced 'cause everyone has the freedom to _label_ another freely."

His logic was rational, but there was something missing.

"In a proper way, yes." Judy responded, adding the matter to his unfinished statement.

"Do I call you with inappropriate surname?" Nick asked.

"No."

"Do you dislike it?" another question Judy must answer.

"No."

"Then what's the point?" Nick snickered. The concern of his call from the beginning somehow became forgotten from his mind. The fox found their regular conversation mended his curiosity.

"I was just testing out your wit," Judy smirked at her words, taking the advantage of how the call turned out. "Seems like there's only tiny part of it still working."

"Oh, my dear rabbit," Nick's reply had a strong confidence wrapped in each syllables. "You have no knowledge over it and will be proven wrong just in time."

"But you don't have any new nickname for me this minute, right?" Judy dared him.

"I do." Nick's short reply ignited her to pry more.

"Name one." Judy challenged further.

"No spoiler," Nick's answer gave her mental image of him performing the 'tsk-tsk' gesture on her. "You'll find out next morning."

"Another excuse," Judy sarcastically rolled her eyes even though Nick couldn't see it. But she knew he was aware of it. "I know you haven't thought of it yet."

" _Them_ ," the fox corrected her. "I assure you, Carrots, you're going to be surprised."

"Prove it then." the rabbit replied in bold voice.

"That's what I'm intending to do," Nick's laugh rang, putting a smile on her countenance. His next words had her blinking and baffled. "And how about an exchange for you giving me one?"

"I don't do nicknames, slick." Judy replied, emphasizing the last word, making sure Nick did not miss it. That was the truth though ; the bunny ordinarily called him by his first name.

Well, except for that one. But for Judy's concern, that hardly counted as nickname considering of the infrequent usage.

"That's unfair," his tone told her he was frowning. "I won't push you though. But you owe me breakfast tomorrow," Nick's light chortle was followed with another peculiar statement. "I'm gonna meditate overnight."

"That sounds plainly stupid." Judy commented in deadpan.

"I can be stupid and clever at the same time, Carrots." the vulpine's clever response sent her laughing and rolling on the bed.

"And I'm not impressed…" Judy murmured between giggles to the phone, a chuckle rang up from it as his response.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Nick casually said.

That served as the end of their conversation.

"Night, Nick."

"Sweet dream, Fluff."

* * *

Judy pushed the rolling door with her elbow since her paws were both occupied in carrying an orange box with the brand, _Toppers Pastry,_ written on the front side. The store was their favorite from the first time they chose to give it a try. She knew all too well Nick would love to devour what she brought now.

Whenever she had stepped in, she could see Nick was having light conversation with Clawhauser at the receptionist desk. The bigger predator, upon noticing Judy's presence, called with bubbly body gesture. Nick brought his eyes to the direction similarly once realizing the cheetah's attention wasn't on him anymore.

Judy waved at them and padded over, her paws were holding a box of freshly baked blueberry pie, the lid was purposely left open to let the steam subsided. On normal circumstance, Nick would just rush in, steal the food and run away from her. But today, he stood firm although the inside of his jaw became watery by the delicate smell.

He waited until they were close enough.

"Morning, Cottontail."

Too bad he didn't see the flying pie.


	42. Time

_Time ushered the unwilling fox to accept the request she was dealing…_

 _… and at the same time, accept his destiny._

"Rabbit, I did what you ask! You can't keep me on the hook forever."

Forever did not exist, Nick of all mammals understood that. Him expressing his protest in the past never ceased to bring a smile when the memory crossed his mind. He thought that the deal would come to an end as soon as they left the Mystic Spring Oasis, and fortune had left him _unfortunate._

He never for once had forecasted or guessed that meeting this bunny officer could make a huge impact in his life, let alone allowing him to help her more.

Well, time had proven him wrong.

The whole 48 hours in his life held the biggest place in his memory, a recollection he would never forsake until the end of his life. With Judy by his side on their quest, two days gave the feeling of weeks. Numerous incidents occurred and somehow, they survived while covering each other's back.

That was the first time Nick counted time with precision. Back then, he had doubted whether to hope that it would end soon or it would keep on. Indecisive as it, the former Nick chose the first.

But the current Nick would never doubt to go with the last.

 _Time made them discover each other._

The sky tram in the morning witnessed how two different species conversed with heart and full of emotions. Usually, one would just fumble with the phone to kill the time on the travel.

But that didn't apply to the duo.

Time-travelling back to past seldom occurred for him, and admitting his weakness was even strictly forbidden. However, Nick found himself telling the tale of his early life, the traumatic fear, and whatever he vowed to keep only for himself.

 _Time deliberately set them apart, and reunite them later on.  
_

During the tough three months, every second felt heavier and longer. Dwelling in guilt, regrets and doubts or overcoming the indignation, resentful thoughts, and lurking frustration respectively had grown both of them stronger.

None were expecting that once again, time brought them back for another chance, another attempt to _try._

 _Time showed him the light ; a path and a mammal.  
_

The whole disaster in Zootopia was brought to an end with only few minutes of theatrical display they had performed. It felt wonderful to completely shut down the raising havoc. The moment afterward, Nick was self-conscious of how he had changed during the eventful times.

He was still himself, but the difference was present ; he had someone to believe and be believed.

He was better than his old self.

* * *

Until now, time had drawn them together, in what seemed lasted forever although without the fateful encounter that would have been never.

But bound in such tether, neither dared to alter and nothing could make them merrier than ever.


	43. Little Worry

A/N : I won't get tired to appreciate all the supports you guys give for this story. Unfortunately, I'm having that cursed writer's block again. I'll try to chill and get something to read to free my mind. Any suggestion for good Zootopia fic?

In the meantime, I also apologize for the next few chapters if they turn out worse. My college will start next week and I'm currently doing the preparation.

* * *

Nick was stuck in his formal attire, consisting of plain white shirt that was ironed good enough to make him look neat, and with the addition of his brand new tie ; black with orange, green and white strips in one line. To complete the set, he had worn a plain black suit and matching dark trousers. The whole clothing felt extremely tight on his furs, but there was no other choice. Basically, it felt almost like his usual police suit, but the tense atmosphere heated his whole body and had him choking the air. The vulpine constantly jerked his paw on the collar and fidgeted on his seat.

Judy sat next to him, her paws modestly settled on her thigh. The bunny was wearing simpler outfit yet she looked much better than him. The rabbit was clad in cerulean dress that covered almost her entire torso when she sat except for the shoulder. The wrists were the only place which had the snow white color, the artificial fluffy cotton-alike texture served as the decoration. On the torso, numerous embellishments shaped as butterflies in similar blue color, although slightly less intense, were patched on the soft linen. Her usual jovial mood and cheerful antics were seemingly constrained by the unusual clothing she had.

They were on their way to wedding party -

No, of course it wasn't theirs. It was held by fellow police officer from the Tundratown district. They found it entirely surprising that the different precinct had invited all the officers in the Precinct One.

At least for the new recruits like them, that was astonishing.

In fact, it became a tradition that most police officers in the entire ZPD followed. But it was the first one which held after Judy's recruitment and that would make it Nick's first too.

Right now, the duo partner were both stuck in reverie and train of thoughts. Judy spent her time looking the blurring image on the window and instantly got bored. The rabbit glanced sideway and found Nick gazing outside in similar way.

"You okay there, Nick?" Judy quietly asked. Her partner had been awkwardly silent during their way to the destination.

Was he nervous just as she was?

She never attended a wedding party, so being invited to one brought the real anxiety and she could feel it in her entire body, flowing along with the pumping blood. Judy had not known whether Nick in the past had experienced it or not.

"I was just thinking…" Nick whispered with caution and brought his eyes on her. When he noticed Judy was still in doubt, the fox threw her a fake lecherous wink just to ensure he wasn't dealing with anything bad.

"What is it?" Judy's worry completely turned into a wild curiosity and she pushed forward, their eyes getting closer one to another. "Tell me, tell me!"

Nick watched that the driver's curiosity was roused as well at the sudden commotion at the backseat with him spying them from the rearview mirror. The fox made a waving paw gesture, silently asking him to focus back on the road and assuring they weren't doing _anything_ other than their casual talk.

"Eager, aren't ya?" Nick brought a digit, slipping it at the diminishing space between their noses and gently shoved her back. Within seconds, Nick already prepared his excuse.

Pathetic would be accurate to describe the lie.

"I just hope the foods are tasty and I'm not allergic to them."

A short bark of laugh surprised both the fox and the driver. Judy forced it to subside into crazy giggles, clutching his arm to support her regaining back her sanity. The dress swayed softly on her shifting.

"Wow, such trivial thing bothers you so much, huh?" the rabbit tenderly swatted his forearm and laughed again. "I wish I had that simple mind of yours." her whole body vibrated with glee in each of the words she said.

"That's a very kind compliment, Carrots." Nick deadpanned while bringing his arm up to look at the watch. They weren't late, and since they were just guests and not the spotlights, technically they could come anytime. Their casual banter was all they needed to relieve their growing anxiety with every second passed and their destination got closer.

The big old building was getting into their vision through the windshield. It stood tall and beat anything around, with the trademark swinging bell on the top of the tower. The pale brown walls which happened to first captivate the eyes of the visitors gave the feeling like the interior of the building would look as old as the outer construction.

Well, they would find out soon if the assumption were correct.

Judy seemed acknowledging Nick's real worry and decided to speak up.

"Don't worry," Judy awkwardly patted his shoulder in comforting manner. Her jovial mood painted the excited grin on her face."I've never been to wedding party either."

 _Almost there,_ Nick failed to hold his smirk. The perceptive thought of his partner rarely ceased to surprise him in utter astonishment. The way she said it gave the feeling like their mind were considerably linked together.

The cab had stopped in front of the building. It was a 20 minutes driving yet with them exchanging their mind it felt like only less than five minutes.

"Then I'll be honored to show you the way," the vulpine snickered and opened the door while holding it for her exit, like a gentlemammal would do. Judy hopped off the cab and leered at his countenance for a moment. In his formal suit, her opinion stood firm on the thought that the fox actually looked stunning.

After paying the driver, they exchanged a brief look. Judy's wondering eyes demanded him to make a clear statement of his previous one. Nick shrugged but smiled on her nevertheless.

"Allow me to be your guide, Fluff." he drew an arm out, offering a paw for a join hands. At first, Judy was reluctant and thought it was a little exaggerating. But upon witnessing the emerald pupils briefly gleamed with expectant glint, the rabbit gave in and accepted the gesture.

"You're saying like you're not one _already_." she tackled his side softly, both of them began to laugh in joy.

Entering the hall, the clamor of chit-chat, excited conversations, and sound of clinked metal coming from stainless forks and knives invaded their hearing instantly. Neither cringed visibly, but deep inside voted their mutual agreement of the mess they had to go through for the night.

And to make the mess become a better experience, they needed to enjoy it.

That was what they intended to do, with them starting to explore the vast building after giving one and two gifts to the newlyweds. With glass of red liquid of strawberry soda held in the paw, Nick and Judy spend their time to look for people they knew to brag of how the party was a huge success, or mammals they weren't familiar – in this case, Judy struggled a lot, since Nick generally knew _everybody_ – and make the acquaintance.

Officer Wolford and Grizzoli were present as well on the party, and the duo lupine spotted two of the most clever officers in their department. Judging by their look, their behavior of never leaving each other, and how happy they look, and how they travelled from one spot to another as if wanting to greet anyone in the party, Officer Wolford nudged his friend and whispered lowly.

"I'm starting to doubt who are the real newlyweds here…"


	44. Shopping

"How's this one?"

Nick carefully inspected the piece of clothing she had worn.

"Doesn't look bad." he commented and made a circling gesture with his digit, asking her to turn around which she did. He held a satisfied expression on his face, and Judy was happy to see that.

She went back to the change room and tried another clothes she brought. The rule had said that one could bring maximum three outfits to try fitting in at _one go._ The reason was to prevent visitors to dominate the change room all on their own. After three tries, they needed to go out and let the others to get in.

For Judy and Nick's case, it was Judy's third time of try with her finding no liking on the previous six clothes. Nick had been accompanying her since the first try and to be honest, he was getting tired ; for both standing all the way in the change room to provide his opinion because darn, no seat to sit, and masking his disinterest of shopping the entire time.

One thing Nick could bring himself to like was he actually got to see Judy in different suit. The concern wasn't only about the clothes themselves, but how they provided the additional support for her natural beauty.

Blinking to himself at the thought, Nick gently banged his snout with his balled fist. It felt like five hours already there, when it was barely two hours. He must've been worn out to make his mind went nuts.

The door in front of him suddenly opened, revealing the grey bunny with vivid color of clothing.

"This?" Judy stretched her arm wide and spun slowly to give Nick the view on all side of the garment.

The fox's frown was clearly visible. Judy had guessed that would be his response and already predicted his comment.

"Hmm…" Nick quietly mused and momentarily gawked at her whole feature. "I think you are prettier with maroon or purple." he finally said. The vulpine wasn't really fond with the idea of his partner to wear yellowish blouse. The color didn't match and was far from complementary either.

"Thought so." Judy slipped back into the booth and shut the door close.

When the door opened again, Nick unconsciously exhaled rather aloud. This would be their last attempt, no matter what. His feet ached and his eyes were drowsy and bored of seeing so many piece of clothes in the department store.

Despite the internal struggle, Nick forced himself to remain cool.

"I still prefer the first." Nick commented in discontent, crossing his arm as a refusal.

"You never say this is good," Judy reminded him at what he had said on her first change, and to emphasize the statement, she held the cobalt T-shirt with _Cool and Fool_ writing on it. "You only go with double negative." she stated flatly. The way she pronounced it sounded like the bunny would like to propose getting another three clothes to try, and that would be the last thing Nick wanted to spend his entire weekend here.

No, he couldn't stay longer than this. The male began to question how on earth females really enjoy shopping.

"Carrots, you want me to be honest?" Nick wore a persuasive smile. One of his paw latched on his chin and its elbow rested on his other paw, while his back was reclined at the wall. "You look good in _anything_."

"Don't lie just to make me feel better." Judy glared at him, the piece of garments on her arm fluttered softly the moment she jerked her arm.

"I'm serious here," Nick chuckled but then continued with a sigh. "And I don't understand fashion to the tiny details, so I guess your first pick is the best," the frown quickly shifted into his trademark smirk. He flipped his paw in motion of giving out something. "You're asking my opinion right? There you go."

Judy chuckled similarly, and clutched the garments on her arm tighter.

"Well…" the bunny realized he did make a point. And the clothes he mentioned wasn't entirely against her liking either, so no harms on either side. "If you do like it, then it's decided."

Nick beamed and the moment Judy left the change room, he followed suit faster than a lightning. They walked to the cashier and found there were queues on each lines. It would take them some time to reach the counter. Nick silently nudged her and motioned a request to wait outside, and Judy just nodded in reply.

For another good twenty minutes, both spent the time to stand and wait. Judy was only one mammal away from the cashier, and outside the store, Nick had finished his second green tea as he threw the empty cup at the trashbin.

When finally Judy showed up with black plastic bag held in her paw, Nick grinned widely.

"Alright-" Judy began and looked up, but was instantly met with Nick peering at her as if she were his prey.

"We're done here, right?" the vulpine didn't even bother to let her finish the statement and cheerily asked. The emerald eyes had the glimpse of longing and desire of cheeseburgers she had promised if he came along.

Or she was just over thinking.

"Of course Nick," Judy lightly chortled and pulled on his tie softly. "And I always keep my promises," she then pushed him to the front by the tie, giggling when his surprised yelp went out. "Lead the way." the bunny ordered in formal tone, but her following laugh broke serious atmosphere.

"Yeay!"

Nick paid no heed to restrain the delighted squeal that would make him look very childish. In fact, Judy appeared to be delighted witnessing the extraordinary occurrence.

After all, he had indeed behaved like a good boy for having the patience to accompany the bunny for her shopping. And a good boy deserved a reward, didn't he?


	45. IDK

"Have you seen my charger?"

Judy left the stuff when she went to his bathroom, planning to charge her phone later. Her battery was running out before she headed to wash her paw from the crumbles of potato chips served as her breakfast. When the doe got back, that thing mysteriously disappeared from the couch.

Nick sat far from her and was seated on the dining table with steaming coffee accompanied him.

"Do I know that? No, I don't." he acted cool like he had nothing related with the missing item.

"How about my phone?" Judy's slightly raised voice asked the fox. She pointed on the couch while still glaring at him. "I swear minutes ago I put it there."

"I don't know?" Nick replied in questioning tone as if disagreeing on her judgemental look on him.

That clearly added her pile of suspicion on him. Well, there were only him and her in the room.

Unless if he were bold enough to say that he saw the phone _walked_ _away_.

"You're lying." Judy placed her paw on her hips, watching his features changed into an utter denial.

"I don't know!" he made an exclamation, obviously another feigned expression.

"Nick, we both know you're a terrible liar." Judy sighed and wandered her eyes around, trying to find out where Nick would hide her belongings.

"Do I know that? No, I believe I do not." the vulpine casually went back to read the newspaper.

Actually, he did not even read. He was just covering his face, because he failed to hold the satisfied smile coming up.

"Reaaalllyyyy?" the bunny drawled aloud and began her search on the closest closet. "I am going to assure you, your partner is a very perceptive detective."

"I don't know…" Nick mused with obvious doubt, completely unconvinced by her empty treat. He put the newspaper down and watched her fumbling every corners in his apartment.

If Judy chose to untidy his apartment, both of them knew who would be responsible in making the place organized back.

"Come on," for a second, Judy took her time to stop whatever she was doing and threw him an obvious annoyed look. "Spit out."

"I don't know." Nick asserted shortly. Judy eventually realized that Nick's only reply was around _I don't_ know and nothing else. There was no point on interrogating him that way anymore with his repetitive answer, so she deliberately switched line.

"Ah, then there's one certain matter you definitely know the best of it." the rabbit grinned and began trotting toward him. Nick watched his partner going closer and threw her a curious look.

A moment later, the vulpine had his own trademark smirk adorning his face. He spoke no words, since that would be illogical to counter the statement with _I don't know_.

Beside, doing so would render the upcoming confession unable to occur.

So, all he did was raising his eyebrow, tilting his face a little bit and ears twitched in anticipation.

"Do I need to phrase it?" she scooted closer, grasping his tie and pulling him closer.

Even with him forcibly pulled on her, Nick silently nodded and momentarily closed his eyes without losing the smirk.

"We know I love you." Judy spoke slowly, chanting every syllables clear and smooth.

"Do I know that?" Nick replied and opened his eyes, revealing the verdant pupils with a glimpse of satisfaction.

They were just inches away from another.

"Do _we_ know that?" Judy corrected, yanking hard on his tie Nick could hardly breathe and subsequently diminishing more space between them.

Their eyes blinked in unison, and as their mind clicked, both spoke simultaneously.

"Yes, yes we do."

Just as how they synchronized everything, even their chortles rang concurrently.

Their sincere laugh was interrupted with Judy suddenly lunged on him, pushing him off balance and both landed on the floor with Judy on top of the surprised fox.

"Unless you want the entire Zootopia see _this_ ," Judy shook her paw as an underline for her real treat. She had a grayscale copy of his photo on last year's horrific Halloween costume he had hidden in his cabinet.

Darn, the recent search of hers wasn't entirely fruitless. She had acquired enough to blackmail him _again._

"Let's see if you can keep that snout shut." she challenged, pulling his collar instead of his tie. The devious look on her face demanded no more denials.

Nick involuntarily gulped.

 _I don't know this will happen…_


	46. Aid

A/N : This will be long, so if you don't want to read my babbling, please just skip until you see straight line.

I've said it before. I'm not in my top performance because of this writer's block. And feel free to say if you feel like I'm making excuse. The thing is, I do watch over my grammars, and though I feel like I don't make much mistakes, it's always a great idea to have corrections.

I do heavily lack on vocabularies and punctuations, and it's noticeable from the first chapter that I do use repetitive clauses. I also tend to misuse phrases and words. I think that's what needs to be corrected, and because it's my habit, I need second opinion for consideration. _Yes, I need proofreader._ Just to let you know, I mostly write close to midnight and I don't have someone to provide me correction at that time. If you ask why, I just can't force myself to write in my spare time during afternoon _( this one is posted on 1.43 AM an hour after my convention ended )_

On the second note, please don't hesitate to point out my mistakes. I'm not perfect, and as much as I love positive reviews, critical criticisms are important as well. Whatever happens though, I won't stop writing. And again, I appreciate any of you who still keeps up to this point despite numerous errors.

I think a break will be nice. But I don't want to ruin the daily update haha

* * *

"Phew…"

Two days spent at the Sahara Square as job visitation wore him off with the feeling like every of his furs began to wither. Not only the extreme heat to deal with, but with the fact that Judy didn't tag along with him. A stealth mission required as minimum personnel as ZPD could send off, and Nick was the only candidate with both the capability to sneak in without rousing any suspicions and the fact he knew many mammals there.

The entire affair went smoother than he thought how it would end, but nevertheless still tired his mind and body wholly. Luckily, after his call to report the success, Chief Bogo let him had two days off _after_ completing the paperwork and submitting the full report.

Right now, the only thing he desired presently was to drop his body on the bed and sleep all the way until tomorrow. The vulpine was currently padding toward his apartment, the black paw dramatically supported him on the wall to keep his balance. Having a hot shower would be helpful, if Nick chose _not_ to straightly doze off. If he did so, he would need to help himself with a huge portion of lunch and cold drinks to further satisfy his pent up wish of nice appetite.

When his mind was left indecisive with the available choice, he chose not to think of it. Nick thought that it would be nice to have Judy there to momentarily aid him with anything he liked to do. But he was an adult mammal, and he couldn't simply rely on her every time and everywhere.

With him unlocking the key and found the door opened instead of the lock clicked, he chuckled whenever he stepped and peered in. None other than his partner bewitchingly leering at the door, specifically on him with a longing look, a pitcher full of lemon tea with considerable amount block of ice floating on the surface was served on his dining table with the sight of the light brown liquid amplified his thirst and two stainless mugs located not far from it. A bowl of what he could make out as macaroni soup blew a steam and the distance did not stop him from whiffing the delicious aroma.

That was adequate for him to bring the delicate smile no one could resist.

"Thanks."


	47. Surprise

A/N : Yeah, it's really late. But here it is.

* * *

Just another mundane Saturday evening at Nick's apartment. Judy came along and bought sodas and pizzas to accompany their night movie. Whenever she came in, Nick was nowhere to be seen but the sound of shower indicated that her partner was currently occupied in the bathroom.

Setting the foods on the table and preparing the mugs and knives, the rabbit listened to the rushing water quietly. A devious idea out of nowhere crossed her mind. She sneaked silently to his bedroom and opened the closet. There were piles of clothes and few shirts hung inside, and as her little size took the advantage, Judy crouched inside and shut the door close.

His closet felt spacious. Judy sat in silent and waited while listening quietly, her ears perked up and down and brushed with the numerous shirts hung by the hanger.

The shower had stopped, and shortly after, a sound of door shut open rang. The bunny braced herself when the stepping sound came closer. Just as the wooden door cracked open and a faint ray of light slipped in, Judy jumped out and shouted.

"BOO!"

"HYAH!"

The fox, who was still topless and some part of his furs were still damp, cried aloud and stumbled back frantically until he slipped, losing his balance and fell flat on his rump. Upon seeing her prank was a huge success, Judy began laughing aloud.

"You're freaking crazy!" the vulpine groused unhappily in a peeved exclamation. He slowly rose while steadying his breath, but his glare never left the bunny. "I almost got a heart attack."

"You…" Judy shortly recovered from her boisterous laugh, stifling and holding back another impending one, and pointed frantically on him before exploding into another series of laughter while rolling on the floor all the way. "You should've looked at your face!"

Nick uncharacteristically whined, which made the bunny barked chortles louder. He grumbled and dusted himself off, the towel draped on his neck swayed softly. It was a fortunate event Nick didn't have a habit to walk out from bathroom fully naked, otherwise Judy would be the one who got surprised.

The thought resulted with Nick grinning widely. He would need to come up with a revenge plan, but _not_ that way.

"Alright, Fluff." Nick held up a wry smirk and pointed a digit on her. "You like surprises? I'll give you one."

He walked to his bed and carelessly tossed his towel on it. Crouching down, he roamed his paw and fished a carton box from under the bed. The box was light enough for Nick to throw effortlessly and Judy to catch it with no difficulties.

"For you." Nick smirked at Judy's confused face. He went back to the closet and pushed her away softly, snatching a plain red T-shirt.

"Is this what you called as surprise?" Judy examined the small box and flipped it back and forth, looking out for any odd indications. "Nick, have that brilliant mind of yours broken down?"

"Oh, rest assured," Nick replied confidently while putting on the clothes. "It's going to surprise you."

"A cheap trick won't do." Judy grinned as well. She chose to brace herself and open the box.

She was expecting a toy worm or spider to jump out the moment she opened the cover, but there was only a long piece of paper which happened to be a ticket. She took a good look on it.

It was a Hevel's Wonderland Grand Opening ticket. They had seen the advertisement a week ago, with the place located at the outskirt between Bunnyburrow and Zootopia. Judy had checked the price back then and it was awfully expensive comparing to her payment, so both bothered less to give it a try, although deep inside Judy was still longing for it since it looked great and fun and close to Bunnyburrow.

"How…" she took the yellow and blue colored paper and involuntarily let the box fell with a thud. Her voice became frantic and enthusiastic at the same time. "How did you get this?!"

"An old friend of mine sent it," he snickered. Judy looked like she had been struck by overwhelming confusion, and her absurd look mended his resentful thoughts on her. "He owed me great time, so in exchange, that was traded."

Although the story wasn't convincing her, Judy decided not to ask him what had he done for his friend. It wasn't her place to ask anyway.

"You really did give this to me?" Judy finally spoke up after momentary silent.

"Yup," Nick nodded and grinned at her. "I'm not a vacation mammal anyway."

"Wait," the bunny looked up and brought her gaze up from the ticket directly to his eyes. "So you don't come along?"

"There's only one ticket." Nick flatly reminded her.

Judy went deadpan.

"Then here's the solution." she answered.

Without any hesitation, Judy held the ticket and tore it off into small pieces. For a moment, Nick's eyes went wide in disbelief, something out of his expectation happened right before his eyes. But no sooner than that, he chuckled.

Technically, he had given the ticket to her so what Judy liked to do with it was supposedly out of his control to protest. Though it was a basic manner of society to show respect and cherish what had been trusted and given, but Judy believed Nick got her point ; there was no way the rabbit took any chance to have fun time, especially a special one, without her partner's presence.

Nick collected the flakes in his paw and slowly padded to the window, Judy following slightly behind. Opening it up with his free paw, Nick blew out the remains and watched how the tiny pieces were washed away by the breeze. Both Judy and Nick saw and thought the whole thing was done ceremoniously to the point that they even let themselves fall in the silence to respect the moment, as if the ticket was a fallen hero from massive war.

It was Nick to assert his point first and break the reverie.

"A day full of surprise, huh?"

A light smack at his side served as her reply, followed by a hearty chortle.

"Never been better."


	48. 48 Hours

The term of 48 hours time limit had become the substantial part of their life.

Almost all their playful bets had the exact time restriction, just as how Judy forced Nick to come along her for her quest, or how Nick offered the chance of erasing the broken confession Judy stated under the bridge.

"I bet you can't eat the whole biggest cream cake sold at Topper's Pastry in 48 hours."

"48 hours for you to find the new hypermarket, and you'll be rewarded."

"I don't think you can satisfy me with flowers. Prove it in 48 hours."

Various trading bets were made. Most of the times, the bet ended with glorious victory and the one who started the bet ended up paying for next day's breakfast, or doing stupid dance in the bullpen, or even singing in the cruiser.

But not all of them though.

Once on Friday, they made a wager of not seeing each other for 48 hours straight, which could be translated as no spending weekend together. The first one who couldn't keep up with it must face the punishment ; let the winner to post whatever they wanted on the loser's Furbook account.

It only lasted a day and 5 hours, and how it came to an end was too hilarious to forget. Nick was still asleep back then at dawn when his door knocked. Whenever the vulpine grouchily went to the door, he was presented with the jovial bunny asking him for a morning jog. Nick, with still half eyelid open, reminded her with the wager they agreed yesterday and Judy was totally dumbfounded with the fact that she had forgotten.

Or she _purposely_ let her forgetting the whole wager only to meet him.

Did she really like him, and miss him that bad?

At that time, Nick was relieved that Judy could afford to momentarily throw away her dignity for the sake of breaking the wager. He himself didn't feel like enjoying the holiday without her presence, and what she had done prospered both. The vulpine didn't say that she lost to it, but a wager was a wager. To make up her effort, Nick did not make the punishment as severe as he planned.

Instead, he only wrote simple phrase on her timeline.

 _"Foxes are just too hard to resist."_

It left multiple interpretations for her Furbook's friends as most of them gave the _haha_ reaction, few commented and mentioned the relationship of her and the cunning fox, and little actually saw through that it was a bet she was losing.

Judy had a great time watching how fast the reactions spammed on the post since it was Monday morning and everyone was just loafing around with social media. Nick peered with equal curiosity and amusement, saying that her defeat was worthy enough which resulted with the bunny laughed and slapped his snout tenderly.

With the wager had ended, there was no longer constraint between them for the rest of the day. They revelled in it, knowing that the stupid wager shouldn't be brought again in the future. And for the record, it was the first wager that had someone losing on it.

* * *

They had lost track on how many hours they had passed with each other's company, but the first 48 hours would remain in their memory eternally.

Because so far, the first 48 hours they had spent served as the beginning of something new, something they never expected. The time brought them together like bees and honey or ants and sugar, inseparable and live on each other.

But neither wouldn't want it another way.


	49. Tripped

A/N : We're getting close to 10k hits! Once again, thank you for all the supports! For those who have yet to favorite, follow, or review, I hope you'll find a reason to do so in the future!

* * *

"You know what I'm thinking about?"

"Hmm?"

They strolled slow and steady on the sidewalk, enjoying being basked with the light after doing little exercise and getting breakfast. Both had some kind of paper food box and plastic fork within their paw.

Judy eyed her partner, waiting for his next statement. They momentarily listened to the passing mammal's conversation, the sound of vehicles and engines roared on the street, and the huge TV advertisements.

"We eat a lot." Nick finally said, the concern was highly unexpected.

"Pardon?" Judy put her free paw close to her left ear with a clear disagreement in her words. " _You_ eat a lot." she grinned while jabbing a portion of the ice cream and brought it to her mouth.

"Says the one who feeds herself with a bunch of ice cream waffles." Nick leered with mischievous look.

"Better than eating a heavy portion of fried rice and _still_ treating himself with potato fries." Judy shot back with made up hostility.

"Hey, I'm bigger than you so technically I have bigger appetite." the fox held a wry smirk and munched more of the golden fries. The delighted expression quickly settled on his countenance.

"You don't-"

Judy's line was never finished because she had stepped in a shallow hole. She had been looking up at her partner that she didn't keep her eyes on the track. Despite her initial shock, the rabbit managed to nimbly roll over her back and gracefully went back on her feet.

Unfortunately, Judy let the ice cream on her paw slipped off in the process. The dessert was swept away, rolling on the dusty ground and the majority of both the ice cream and the waffles ended on the concrete surface. Few survived in the paper box, but even so, most of them were covered with black spot of sands and tiny gravels.

"Poor unlucky bunny…" Nick had walked on her and patted her shoulder in fake sympathy. The doe sighed and collected the inedible food including those which scattered all over the ground. As a good citizen, she wouldn't allow herself to make a mess on public place. The bunny planned to dispose it on the closest trash bin.

"Don't pity me." Judy glared at him, but it only amused her partner more.

"Then I'll just laugh at ya." Nick smirked widely.

As if on cue, Nick literally went guffawing aloud. He completely ignored the questioning look nearby mammals had thrown them, and keep laughing the whole time. Judy rolled her eyes at his antics and acted as if she didn't recognize him.

Few meters away and Judy's eyes spotted _something_.

Nick was still laughing although it had been subsided with his eyes shut. Unfortunately, closing his eyes wasn't exactly a clever idea to do at the beginning. Apparently, the sidewalk they had been walking on had dozen flaws with numerous holes on it. Nick was about to set his foot on another hole but Judy came to his rescue.

Or not quite a rescue.

The bunny stepped on his tail to stop his movement, effectively preventing him from taking another step, but the sudden weight on his tail still forced Nick to jerk forward and lose his balance. At the same time, Judy slid the paper box toward him. Instead of slamming his face on the hard surface, his snout was met with soft texture of waffles and sticky material of ice cream.

"That, dear," Judy watched his whole feature, her face radiating a victorious and gleeful expression. "is what you should laugh at."

Some of the pedestrians witnessed the incident and numerous chuckled at it. Few pretended they didn't see it, and even fewer openly laughed at the sight. Having been brought to the center of attention, Nick quickly rose and trotted with quickened pace. Judy was a bit concerned and hastily padded behind him.

Without slowing down, Nick silently rummaged his pouch and produced the red handkerchief. The vulpine proceeded to wipe his face with long and fast stroke.

"Come on, let me help you." Judy chimed in and brought up a pack of wipes yet her cheerful request didn't budge the fox.

"No," Nick refused, a feigned hurt look on his face. "You're just making everything worse." the last statement should've been said with tone of resentment, but he couldn't pull himself to do so and end up smirking at her.

"That's mean." the bunny replied at the protest but jumped anyway to match the height. She made a swift motion to wipe away the white substance glued on his cheek furs, and smiled inwardly afterward when she knew Nick wasn't that angry at her after the event.

"And a fact." Nick shrugged off and glanced sideway. He could see Judy's smile faded and replaced with a frown.

"Hey!" Judy firmly stared right at the emerald pupils, her arms crossed.

It served as the beginning of another light jest and chatter.

"You like to humiliate me, huh?"

"I do. And you share the same feeling right?"

"Can't find any reason to deny it."

"Because I can see through you."

"I'm not a passable terrain."

"But I'm an experienced traveler."

They were too engrossed with the conversation to miss out that the sidewalk curved and went right. With their banter held them locked eyes to eyes, instead of following the right way, they kept walking straight to the cross road completely unaware of their off-track. There was only a little height difference between the road and the sidewalk, but the element of surprise of them being oblivious with the impending danger helped much.

The moment they stepped forward and realized that their feet landed farther than before caused them to stumble and kiss the pavement.


	50. (Spc) Verdant

A/N : Here's another special chapter to celebrate 10k views!

For another note, I put in a bit of science. I don't know if it's entirely accurate, but my lecturer did explain it that way few days ago. It took hell of time for me to finish this though.

Well, please enjoy!

* * *

Venturing through the crude terrain, getting constantly stumbled from overgrown roots and stepping on withered branches began to worry Nick of when would they reach the peak. His sole felt uncomfortable with the sloppy ground and the lingering peculiar stillness further amplified the strange sensation.

"This is a hell of a hike, Carrots," Nick grunted. He firmly gripped the long stick he found earlier before entering into the deepest part of the forest. Even with the support of the rod, the fox still wobbled lightly, his feet starting to feel sore. "I see where those strong legs come from."

Judy was few meter ahead from him, both taking the lead and missing the fact that Nick had slowed down. The call had roused her awareness and she quickly spun while walking backward for a moment.

"Come on, Nick," she waved her paw, dismissing his concern in a swift gesture and turning her back on him again. The quite lengthy journey didn't seem to wear herself the slightest. Instead, she was bouncing around giddily as if knowing every tiny part of the forest. "You're the one who lacks exercise." she laughed but halted for awhile to let him catch up on her.

"I like my sleep more than jogs." Nick unconsciously whimpered. In the current circumstance, making a prank of purposely fell over her and let her catch him would sound wonderful, but he restrained the idea. That wouldn't be fun if she failed to catch and ended up ruining his beautiful furs with mud and pebbles.

They had been walking for almost half an hour, so taking a break wasn't entirely a bad idea. She let her eyes wander back and forth. Upon analyzing the surrounding, Judy nodded to a direction where there laid a huge trunk of dead tree.

"Alright," she chuckled and began walking to it. "Let's take a rest for a while."

Nick let out a relieved sigh and quickly followed. The aforementioned _seat_ was covered in pile of dried leaves, and they worked up a little to swipe away the crap. When they were done, Nick jumped on it and sat followed by Judy. His back felt stiff and the vulpine thought laying down would help. The bunny beside him saw through his mind and kindly offered her thigh as his pillow, and Nick happily accepted as he laid down.

For a moment, they listened and the only sound they could hear was their steady breath. As they focused more on the hearing, the dense forest was actually enveloped with quiet rustles and silent breeze. The atmosphere kind of giving the fox a particular chill down his spine.

"I sense the eerie woods…" Nick whispered, shivering slightly. His partner chuckled and as he looked up, he could see she was eyeing him with gleeful flicker within her eyes.

"You're hallucinating," Judy chortled and stroke the side of his muzzle tenderly, the laugh created a faint echo. With a grin, she gazed back at him. "Besides, I'm with you."

The reply was all he needed to pull the joke.

"Let's play logic, Carrots," Nick playfully asserted, sitting straight up and facing her, his feet draped lazily on each side of the trunk. "There's only you and me here, and I feel something creepy. Where does that feeling come from?"

"Me?" the bunny held her paw on her, and the moment Nick grinned in agreement, she masterfully made her voice sounded fearsome and frightening. She jumped and stood on the trunk, using the height advantage to loom over him with supremacy. "Nicholas P. Wilde, I have come to retrieve your soul once and for all!"

Nick couldn't help but laugh at her.

"Mercy me, goddess!" he begged, holding his paw up and making a quiet prayer. They traded guffaws shortly, and the rest of the time was spent in complete silence. Both reveled in the tranquil climate, watching on few ray of light which had made it through the dense leaves and branches.

It was the time to walk again when Judy hopped off and threw him a look. Nick wanted a longer break, but held no objection with the offer as he mustered what spirit left inside him and joined the trot.

To make the trip less gloomy, Judy decided to present him a conversation.

"Want to hear something?" she chimed in with a chuckle. Nick's feature brightened in a flash.

"I'm always up for a joke." he cheerfully replied and a happy grin settled on his face.

"No," Judy denied the idea. When Nick brought his gaze down for a clarification, Judy chuckled. "It's a scientific research."

The matter brought up was unforeseen, Nick mused quietly. However, rather than spending the time in silence, he didn't really feel against the idea.

"Weeeelllll," Nick drawled and glanced at her, his eyes sparked with apparent joy. "Spit out then."

He only hoped it wouldn't end up a serious conversation he was never fond.

"It's related with colors and how eyes work," the rabbit snickered. The stuff was indeed not a light one, and Nick couldn't hold his sarcasm gesture of rolling his eyes and sighed aloud. Judy giggled at his reaction but kept going. "Should I begin with the introduction?"

"I'm not that stupid." the fox muttered in protest, having been taught of it during high school. He admitted he wasn't one of the brightest student back then, but at least he understood the fundamental theories.

And besides, the last thing he wanted was to fall asleep when listening to the lecture, in the wild and open space. He frequently dozed off in the class when he got bored on the subject, and Judy wouldn't need to make him recall the memory, and subsequently cause him to sleep right at their place now.

"Alright," Judy cleared her throat before beginning to speak. "We can clearly see the environment before us in various colors because they belong in the visible spectrum," with two digits held up, she physically created a space between it and went explaining more."The visible spectrum contains different colors within 400 to 700 nanometers wavelength of electromagnetic spectrum," the bunny briefly glanced at her partner to check if he had lost it, but for the good news, he was still listening intently. "It starts with red and ends with blue." the tone hinted that she had finished, but actually it was only a little part of it ; there were more to go.

"And?" Nick added his question as an adjacent space between her scholar explanation. A good interjection would be necessary for him to process the whole thing.

Judy seemed to appreciate the effort as she smiled. She too, needed to properly compose the words otherwise it would come out only as an unclear statement.

"Theoretically, the more our eyes focus on the color close to the margin, the more tired we become," Judy deduced, with Nick nodding at it. She brought her face up and asked. "Say, do you happen to spend long time watching anything with majority of red or blue color?"

Nick glanced down at her, momentarily lost in her violet eyes. A snap of finger brought him back and he blinked.

"I like beach, sea and sky," the latter mention of color had Nick rubbing his chin and hastily looking up. Sadly, the sky was blocked with thick leaves forming a canopy. "I don't think it tires me." the fox tilted his face on her in confusion.

"True," Judy vocalized her agreement. "I still don't quite understand with the theory," she admitted openly, Nick raising his eyebrow at her confession. He furrowed it more when her next line was spoken. "I'm fond with blue too, but I do agree with red,"

Nick grinned in amusement, getting exactly the point where this was going. Judy also took her time to take a good look at him and acknowledge his expression.

With a chuckle, the bunny finished her statement.

"Especially this certain _red_ fox."

Nick unconsciously put more weight on his next step, crushing the dead branches with a loud crack as the chain reaction of him feeling slightly excited.

"I'm a russet fox, for your information." he smirked, showing the row of teeth and fangs.

"It still belongs to red family, right?" Judy let out a little laugh and began to name bunch of the hue. "Crimson, ruby, garnet, scarlet, maroon, whatever you want."

"Uh," the vulpine scratched the back of his head, completely surprised at her knowledge. "You know a lot of colors shade."

"Oh please, Nick," it was Judy's turn to smirk. "You can't challenge a woman with colors recognizing," when the matter of gender was brought up, Nick realized and already predicted her upcoming sentence."Unless you are used to lipstick."

"Heh." he snickered, and another series of laugh was traded.

"I'm not done," Judy quickly changed back the topic. She worried if somehow she forgot what she wanted to say ; after all, Judy wasn't really into science. All the concern was to impress Nick with the ending, so she needed to keep up the talk until it reached the conclusion.

"With the logic I mentioned, we can safely assume that the color stands right at the center of the spectrum range is the color that won't tire us," she concluded the point and glanced over her shoulder. Somehow, they had made quite distance again. "Don't you agree?"

"That sounds logical," Nick mused and ruffled his cheek's fur. "And what's the color?" he asked.

One of her Judy's favorite was to answer a question with a _question_.

"What do you think?" her paw held up three digits, gesturing the number of chance he was afforded.

Another game of riddles.

"Fine," Nick let out a mix of grumble and chuckle of anticipation. He contemplated for a while before speaking up. "Green?"

Whether it was a lucky guess or him knowing it already, Judy surprisingly wasn't _surprised_.

"Aren't you a professor?" her laugh rang like a bell, heartwarming and full of content. The mental image of her partner wearing plain white lab coat gave her more reason to laugh louder in pleasure.

Nick only listened to the laugh until it subsided into a mere smile.

"Nah, I'm just kind of guessing," the fox's humble confession made Judy's smile grew even wider. "We know that tri colors stand for Red, Green and Blue right?"

He was officially known as the most cunning officer with a reason.

"I should stop calling you dumb fox." Judy rolled her eyes.

"That doesn't equally mean I'll stop calling you dumb bunny." Nick warned smartly.

"Oh well," Judy accepted her defeat. "I rescind my latest proclamation."

They lost track of how much time had been going since their break. Not that they cared anyway ; with them progressing like this, sooner or later they would reach the final destination.

"You haven't finished." Nick reminded the rabbit to bring back the conversation.

"Thanks for the reminder," Judy swatted his arm lightly and briefly thought the line. Once she was completely sure, the bunny spoke with high confidence. "With those prior explanations, that explains why almost all of us feel relaxed and calm whenever we see green."

"Hmm," the logic was sound, but Nick didn't find himself entirely agreeing the argument. "I still prefer blue."

That sounded odd, with the fact that he normally wore a green Hawaiian shirt. Denying his liking on the color should've been added with the evidence of him using entirely different attire.

Or was the blue of his police uniform replaced the green?

One thing for sure though ; blue and green never beat _purple_.

" _Almost_ is the word," Judy playfully chided. With well trained agility, she leaped over a puddle of waters and landed gracefully on the steep ground. "You need to check up to find out if you have severe disorder, slick."

Nick was about to reply, but the sight before him stopped him to do so. The terrain ahead had become extremely precipitous. Both nodded in agreement to focus more on the task instead of keep the talk lively for the rest of the time.

"I'm an ... extraordinary ...mammal." Nick eventually said between breath as he spent great efforts to go through the obstacle. The rod had long been thrown away, and he proceeded with bare paws.

"I can't disagree," Judy said aloud, almost forming a shout. They were careful with each step and grip, making sure not to fall.

Another minutes passed, and they finally made it. But when his expectation was to find something amusing up here, there was only more and more of dull and murky forest filling his vision.

Nick sighed. They hadn't reached the summit and to the fox's dread, he assumed it was still far.

He only hoped that it would worth it.

As they strolled slowly through the dark forest, Judy eventually whispered on him while pointing a direction.

"Oh, here we are."

Following her motion, Nick shifted his attention forward. The massive trees had dispersed as they seemingly reached the end of the woods. Bright light illuminated the entrance, or the exit, and as they ran toward it, their eyes were blinded with intense glow after the past few hours were spent in dark forest and gloomy environment.

The moment they realized it, there were no longer masses of trees. A small open clearing with only a particular lone oak tree covered the spot within its shadow. The place wasn't directly basked in sunlight, but wasn't entirely sheltered with shadow and blocking the view of the sky either. The state of equilibrium created a perfect place, not to mention the view provided there.

From their place, the height offered them a view of almost the whole Bunnyburrow. They could see various farms and crops, the residence and housings, the extensive space of grass field left untouched, and even the train track led to Zootopia. Even from the distance, they could make out tiny gray and brown spots on various place, watching the small region occupied by the working citizen.

To put it simple, it was marvelous.

"Wow…" Nick gawked at the sight, his jaw was left ajar.

Judy chuckled, smiling widely and her whole feature radiating with happiness.

"I present you the entire Bunnyburrow, little fox."

* * *

"I must say," Nick spoke after retrieving his consciousness from the short reverie. "This is incredible."

"Uh huh," Judy crossed her arms in pride. "And you're seeing an incredible scenery with incredible bunny right before you."

He was unable to come up with a brilliant counter at the moment.

"I'll let you win this time." Nick let out a terse laugh, Judy joining the joyful moment right after.

They stood side by side, eyes roaming and admiring back and forth, right and left, up and down.

"You're right." Nick chimed in suddenly, breaking the bubble of silence between them.

"Huh?" Judy looked at him in mild confusion. Nick threw her a sincere smile.

"Who will be fool enough to hate nature?" he stated with soft tone. Taking a deep inhale, the fox continued. "They're beautiful and…" having himself at loss of words, Nick lightly snorted and came up with a simple confession. "Honestly, I can spend all my time here."

"I told you," Judy smiled. She bent down and sat on the grass, motioning for him to follow her ; they had been standing the whole time completely attracted with the view. "You will never have enough greenery."

"And a rabbit." Nick added the jest with a wide smile. Just as he settled down, his face was met with a light punch straight on the jaw.

"I'm blushing right now, Nick," Judy squeaked, pretending to be flustered. "You embarrass me." she threw another punch but her partner retaliated.

"Nice try, Fluff," Nick caught her knuckle and withstood the propellant force. With Judy puffed her cheek, he smiled and let go of her paw. The red fox presumed that it would be better to lay down on his back, which then he did and was proved right. "This feels nice."

"I know, right?" Judy went laying down too, but on her stomach. When Nick stared blank at the horizon, Judy went admiring the vast meadow. She let her face hung at the edge of the cliff to have better view of the lowland.

It lasted for less than ten minutes. Nick shifted and the grass beneath him swayed along with the gesture.

"Getting tired with the sky?" Judy inquired as soon as she noticed Nick crawling close to her.

"The sky will mostly stay the same wherever we are," Nick asserted his point as his snout came to her peripheral vision. "But this view? Once in a blue moon."

"We can always get a train to come here anytime, Nick." the bunny stated the fact, in which Nick disregarded the offer.

"Nah," the fox grimly shook his head, recalling the prior event he had to go through before starting the hike. "I'm having terrible headache thinking how to avoid getting trampled from hundred bunnies."

Judy burst out laughing at it.

"That's the challenge." she giggled crazily. If Nick weren't at her side, she would just roll on the grass.

"But seriously," her partner spoke in questioning tone. "You leave your hometown only for the sake of your dream?" Nick supported his chin with one paw, his elbow set on the ground. He gazed right on her amethyst eyes. "I mean, this is heaven!"

The exclamation sounded dull, Judy noticed

"We can't stay forever in heaven, Nick." Judy asserted her point of view. She gently ruffled the fur on his head and all the way to his neck. The vulpine let a soft sigh escaping his lips.

"I can relate," Nick snickered and shifted his gaze to the scenery. "Going out of comfortable zone, huh?"

"Correct," the bunny nodded vigorously at it. A moment after that, she quietly whimpered. "And it's ironic for you to say it."

"Pardon?" Nick was confused.

"My dream to go to Zootopia… it started here," Judy told him, a weary smile planted on her countenance. Her eyes sparkled with what seemed like tiny ember. "Even from the faintest sight of the tall towers and buildings, I yearned to prove myself worthy enough to live there."

The towers erected there certainly could be spotted, even only the tip of them.

"I see…" the fox smiled at her. "It's nice that you don't give up your dream like what I did."

"I live a bright life, Nick," Judy pointed out, comparing her early life with his. "If I were you, I'd be straying as much as you did."

"Mine wasn't that bad," Nick defended, but at least he understood her point. He barked a laugh to assure her he didn't take that as an insult. "But thanks for the sentiment."

"That's my Nick." Judy winked.

"Ouch," Nick covered his snout in feigned agitation. "Since when I become yours?"

"Since you signed on the contract."

Within second, they were occupied with dealing on self-restraint to hold themselves from laughing too much, otherwise they could slip and fall from the hill.

* * *

They stayed hours after hours, with time flew incredibly faster until the sun began to descend. The blue horizon had turned orange with reddish streak and hue. Shadow fell over and gloomed the entire meadow, the scenery went darkened and both of them accepted the nature call for them to go home.

Both rose and stood firm, taking the last glance of the wonderful landscape.

"You love this, don't you?"

Nick found himself asking aloud, when deep inside the fox only _thought_ about it. Despite so, he was expecting another _question to question_ answer, but his partner went straight.

"I did." Judy stated with a honest smile. Nick squinted his eyes at her.

" _Did?_ " he queried with soft tone. The vulpine silently hoped there wouldn't be another heartache of sorrowful memory.

"Yes," Judy confirmed in blithe, and Nick subconsciously exhaled in relief. "There's this particular green I loved more, recently."

Nick couldn't tell a better scenery that what he saw right before him.

"Where is it?" he demanded answer, so Judy gave her one.

"Here."

His eyes blinked several times.

"Oh," there was an awkward silence for a minute. But once Nick's trademark smirk crept up his face, the doe smiled in advance.

"And how does it look like?" Nick rhetorically asked, although he had foreseen the answer.

Judy was aware he would seek for the truth more or less, sooner or later.

Or rather, forcing her to admit it openly with him already getting the idea.

Perhaps, being honest on it was the best decision, for now.

"You won't know," she tersely laughed and rested her head on his shoulder. Looking up and having caught glimmer of pleasure within the verdant pupils she adored the most, once again she laughed.

"Because you can't see it."

The sunset witnessed the exchange, of how the partners looked at each other eyes with faith and trust. Had this been a romance movie, they would just kiss.

But they weren't couple, so such occasion never happened.

Instead, Judy booped him with a finger and that was the beginning of their endless laugh, the joy spread on the air to no one but back to them as they took off toward Judy's house.


	51. Firework

_That_ did not need to wait until new year event. _That_ wouldn't also wait for their respective birthday either. All they needed was someone to openly _ask_.

"I wanna see fireworks." Judy sighed, the whole week wearing her off at the best. Ton of cases to work, more paperwork to finish, and with the mention that her apartment was renovated. She lost almost three quarter of her sleep time with the noisy bustle, strangers wandered along the hall, hurried footsteps, and thinking a lot.

A break would be necessary.

"I'll accommodate," Nick immediately offered. Without waiting her reply, he briefly grasped her paw and took off, shouting the place and time over his shoulder. "This night. Meet me at Savanna Central North Quay."

Fairly straight to action was what Judy liked of Nick.

Oh well, she liked all part of him.

* * *

"I bought it, Nick!"

"You're late!"

They sat at the edge of the dock, settling down the paper bag carefully. Nick had bought the fireworks with him telling her back then that he would accommodate, but Judy brought the stuffs too, so they collected them together and the amount was abundant for only a night. They both chose to keep Judy's part until their next night out was decided.

Strangely, their choice landed on similar type ; the lightest firework which did not launch explosion at the sky, but only emitted yellow sparks once lit up.

For a moment, the silent waves of the sea accompanied the duo mammals. No one was there amidst the midnight chilling wind and dull sky. They proceeded to tear the wrapper and find numerous sticks of firework in it.

"Lit it up, come on!" Judy urged hastily, or sounded more like begging on him.

"Patience." Nick couldn't resist to smile.

He brought out a candle attached on a flat metallic plate. The fox skillfully fished out his lighter and lit it up. He didn't smoke, but nevertheless he always kept the lighter in his pocket for emergency purpose.

With the candle set up, it would be easier for them to ignite the fireworks once one died down. Judy, with clear excitement, snatched two and swiftly light them up.

Tiny sparks jumped like fireflies once the tip met with the fire. Both of Judy's paws were holding sparkling flash stick. As she danced around, the stick created a pattern of her movement briefly, various line of light glow were shown as the choreography took place.

Nick's eyes followed every of her movement, watching the show before him with mild amusement. Whenever he noticed that Judy's fireworks were about to lost the spark, the vulpine helped her to ignite new sticks and passed on her, so that her nimble dance never ceased.

Once the enthusiasm wore off, Judy went back to sit beside him. Nick didn't move around as she did ; he only stayed where he sat and witnessed the stick emitting spark of embers until it blackened and died.

They lit up the last two and scooted closer while holding the fireworks even closer. Neither spoke or talked, both didn't want to ruin the last moment for the night. Judy subconsciously leaned closer, and Nick rested his paw on her shoulder, bringing her into a light embrace.

The only sources of light presented were the fireworks, moonlight and dim lighting of the dock. But with the provided glow, those were enough to mend the murk, gloom and apparent darkness at both the environment and whatever rest within their heart.

The faintest light of firework lit up their soul, rekindling the passionate ember once ablaze deep inside.


	52. Wooden Bell

A/N : Welcome September! I'll be super _busy_ especially these first two weeks, so forgive me if this story is updated sporadically. But I still persist to make one chapter one day ; if somehow I miss out a day, I'll make it up by posting two the next day.

Hope your September goes well!

* * *

"Welcome!"

As the door opened, an unfamiliar jingling-alike sound buzzed as a greeting. It gave the vibe of entering a medieval and classical shop. She suspected Nick bought a new bell, but since the sound didn't even close to metallic cling, she would need to reconsider.

Right before her, Nick stood there with paws open, making a gesture like she was a long lost family who had been long apart from him, the trademark smirk didn't miss from his snarky expression.

"Don't treat me like a newcomer," she briefly shot a playful glare at him, which he threw another smirk in response, and stepped in to search for the source of the noise.

At the top section of his door, something was attached. Its color was pale brown, matching the door and had she not squinted her eyes for better look, she could've missed it.

It was certainly a bell. But instead made of steel or other metal, its composition consisted with only wood. The bell was pinned and nailed on the door, a thin fabric of red ribbon was attached at the body and danced following the rhythm. To confirm her assumption, she made a quite high leap and gently slapped the bell. Both the missing cold sensation whenever her paw touched the rough surface and the sound produced affirmed her initial guess.

It wasn't there on her last visit, Judy recalled. She narrowed her eyes back on the fox, seeking an answer. "When did you put it?"

"Just two days ago," while padding to the couch, Nick flippantly replied and wagged his paw. "A group of teenagers gave me the offer. They sold various handmade stuffs to support their organization's finance."

"I can imagine that," the bunny persisted a grin to stay on her face. During her middle school, she used to conducting garage sales as in attempt of fundraising for the organization's big event. "Making one sale definitely helps a lot."

"Yup," Nick nodded in agreement. The TV remote was in his paw, but turning it on had yet to cross his mind. He tossed it aside eventually and chose to just talk to her. "And it's not that bad, isn't it?"

"Certainly," her words hung in the air, obviously an unfinished statement. Judy wandered aimlessly in the room and let her paw roam along the couch's headrest, twice passing through soft furred texture of vulpine ears. "But why bell though? Don't you say they sell bunch of stuffs?"

"Well…" Nick murmured something under his breath which fortunately Judy couldn't hear. He invited her to take a seat beside him by patting the space next to him. The rabbit easily jumped over the couch and was already settled, looking at him intently, waiting for his answer. Nick failed to hold him from laughing and then slowly recounted. "Honestly, at first I joked at them what they would recommend for me to buy," both snickered in unison, Judy had the clear mental image of her partner getting shrouded by few smaller mammals and how he worked his way to escape and clear the path. "They initially brought up the bell, a small wooden handcraft shaped car-alike, and some kind of portable music player," Nick carefully recalled as his digits went up with each type of item mentioned. "Since I didn't find myself interested for the other choice, I chose that." he finished and nodded to the direction, specifically to the bell.

"Interesting," Judy smiled, her eyes were set at the crafted art hung limp at his door as well. "If I were you, I'd pick that car souvenir."

"You bet," the fox grinned at her reply. Judy could confidently say that because she was missing the information about the _price_. "It's darn good and one look will ensure you it's made by skilful paws," the other two weren't bad ; on the contrary, they were really good. Still, the idea of spending much money for useless stuff that could only be organized as an additional decoration in his room didn't amuse him.

Sighing in content and momentarily brought his face up, staring at the ceiling, he spoke the closing statement.

"But I still believe I made the right choice."

That had Judy in slight disagreement. She hopped off the couch and walked to the door, wanting to take a closer inspection. Clicking the door open and shaking it gently, the rabbit watched how the wooden bell swayed back and forth, producing the characteristic gentle sound she was quick to fall in love with.

"The bell is nice though," she eventually agreed. Turning back and glancing at him, she chuckled softly. "You should've gotten two."

If only she knew Nick did not buy only _one_.

Nick rose and joined her, briefly gazed at her eyes before moving them to the bell. He stretched his arm up and made a move as if about to detach the bell from the door and gave it to her, but Judy's touch on his arm froze the fox.

"Let it stay," she spoke in authoritative tone, making the vulpine lightly shuddered. "And make sure it _stays_."

To anyone, it was just a simple sentence. But to Nick, it was an implicit saying that they had come to an agreement that their meeting point would switch mostly to only Nick's apartment, where the bell resided.

He did make the best choice, didn't he?

"Affirmative, partner." was his only reply. Chuckles came afterward, and within seconds, it turned into chortle, both vibrating in joy.

As they laughed, so did the bell. It jiggled around gleefully, as if acknowledging the owner's radiating happiness.


	53. Warning

"I warn you."

"Sorry? I don't hear that."

They were just taking a casual walk and all was good until Judy proposed the horrendous suggestion. The bunny had to face her partner in his _full-rejection mode._

"Don't you dare!"

Like a kit whose boxes of candy in his possession were about to be taken over, Nick's eyes flashed with horror and utter displeasure, the major part of his body had the furs standing out. Judy found the fox's whole feature looked a lot like comical expression in the child magazine she used to read when she was still young.

"You are even cuter with that face." she giggled, and with mild amusement witnessed of how fast the expression shifted into an annoyed look.

"No," Nick let out frustrated groan. This would just occasionally happen here and there, but that didn't exactly make it less irritating. "Just no." he firmly pushed aside the idea.

"Come on!" Judy bounced around him, one slow and grouchy step of the fox was equal with four short and jovial jumps in circular pattern.

Letting out a sharp exhale, Nick grabbed her shoulder and held her still.

"This is my last warning, Fluff." he declared with fierce tone, and to assert his point more, he clutched her shoulder tighter.

"Aaaand?" the whole effort unfortunately did not cause side effect the fox wanted, with Judy letting out a playful drawl.

"Don't even try." Nick dragged his paws away and went back to stroll the sideway, hoping to take an escape from the rabbit.

"Do I even care? No, no I don't."

Completely ignorant to the assertive admonition, the rabbit opened her arms wide and with a final jump hugged his tail. Nick glanced over his shoulder grimly as part of his body tried to trash and break away from the deadly embrace but to no avail.

The vulpine eventually gave up and slapped the bridge of his snout in defeat, exhaling so loud the bystanders across the road could've heard that.

"I may consider to bring _rabbit_ repellant." he eventually murmured, pretending to be blind with various eyes staring at both of them.

Judy's ears twitched.

"Oh, you despise a clingy bunny?" she, with part of her face still covered with russet furs of his tail, airily replied as if there was nothing wrong with their display of antics.

Too bad, despise was a complete opposite of what occurred in his mind.

"Not the slightest." with another sigh, Nick surrendered and allowed Judy to do whatever she wanted. A small smile showed on his face despite briefly struggling internally.

The thing he began to both hate and like whenever he got along with the bunny had grown as the time flow ; honesty. The more Nick spent his time with Judy, the more he became honest to himself.

And the male decided to ignore his own protest, as the tail slipped and wrapped around his partner's hips, with gleeful restrained cry came out right after.

Being honest certainly didn't generate much negative effects.


	54. Snowball

Tundratown was quiet.

Dead quiet.

Forecast never for once mentioned that the weather was this worse. That explained why the street was almost empty.

 _Almost,_ except two unlucky mammals ventured through the severe wind.

"The last time we were here," Judy exlaimed between gritted teeth. Her arms wrapped tight covering her torso, the light sweater didn't do much to protect her from the stinging cold air. She began to regret of not bringing the flannel scarf Nick had given the offer. "I could swear it wasn't this cold!"

"Season, darling," Nick responded apathetically. He looked just fine with his silver scarf cloaking his whole neck and part of his snout. His paws were stuffed in his pouch, giving him the look of cool guy. Behind the fabric, she could make out his playful grin as he spoke. "You have chosen the worst time out of the year."

The rabbit swiftly turned on her heels, which luckily they were keeping some distance otherwise both would've bumped.

"It's not beyond your knowledge yet you let us go?" she casted a mean glare. Nick tersely stiffened within the piercing violet eyes.

"That's not entirely true," he defended and gestured a pushing motion in hope to keep their distance. With the ill weather constantly harassed with its freezing breeze, the wind generated an eerie sound like shrill howl of starving wolves, and with the addition of her deadly glare, that was just too much for him not to tremble. "I just remembered." the vulpine leered and winked at his partner in attempt to brighten the situation.

"Fine," Judy frowned, deciding not to keep up with the topic. She could clearly her partner's relieved exhale, and that certainly did not fail to compel herself for bringing up a smile. They continued walking through the day, ironically lacking of warmth despite it was almost noon. "And why are we here, I can't even remember." Judy consciously kicked mound after mound of snow, the soft white texture splattered everywhere.

"You want that snowflake cookies with vanilla frosting." Nick completely deadpanned. If Judy had forgotten her intention to come here after their struggles, he couldn't think what to throw at her other than his phone in his pocket.

Wait…

"Oh right," a soft chuckle escaped from her quivering lips. Within second, she went back hopping in glee, but funnily, it abruptly stopped as she sighed. "But I kinda lost the mood with the weather."

"Uh huh," the fox's snicker was barely audible within the howling wind. A smirk formed on his face and he took few step backward. "Let's just warm you up then."

The next thing she felt, a splat right behind her head surprised her as the stinging cold sensation rushed over her body and it sent her stumbling, almost falling over. The moment served as to resolve her confusion of his words.

So, he proposed a snow fight ; it could define both warming and _chilling_.

Wiping the snow with a violent brush, Judy turned back in rigid motion, pure adrenaline surged throughout her veins.

"You're. Gonna. Regret. That. Fox." she spelled each word and made sure to space properly in order to emphasize the _real_ but _feigned_ murder intention.

Nick gladly accepted ; after all, he was the one who started it.

"Make me."

Flurry of snow were thrown everywhere, the beginning of crucial fight to determine nothing but satisfy the insatiable need of exhilaration.


	55. Sine qua non

A/N : Shout out to my beloved generation - I dedicate this sacred number for you all ! I don't know if this counts as special chapter, I guess I'm just fond with the theme.

* * *

Once again, the savior of Zootopia, Judy Hopps and her partner, Nicholas Wilde, managed to subdue an on-going crime consisting of children kidnapping case and various attempts of murder. They discovered that none other than Bellwether's cronies were behind the whole mess. Quickly recognizing their pattern of movement, both had caught two of them red-handed on their next target and with the help of ZPD Intelligence Unit, Chief Bogo ordered ten of his best officers to track the suspected location after gathering enough evidence from the criminal, bringing justice to the convicts.

Although technically all of the ZPD Officers took part in solving the case, Nick and Judy were given the most credits since their capability to analyze the situation was deemed as the determining step. They spent the rest of the day until late night watching how the kits were reunited back with their family, numerous time accepting grateful handshakes and assuring the worried parents that they were just doing their duty, and coming home late as they quickly dozed off in their respective apartment.

The following day was entirely filled with paperwork, paperwork, and _paperwork._ Not only that, the overload cheers coming from their fellow teammates in the whole department successfully added little of stress, the noise kept coming everywhere they went. Both even agreed to submit early exit to escape from the commotion. On the way back, they were forced to stop by dozen of reporter with hungry eyes pried over them.

They sighed in unison, knowing that the day was far from the end. However, both chose to professionally not whine a single protest and braced through the series of question.

"Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde, both of you have been working splendidly! Care to tell us what is behind your effective teamwork?"

Down to their feet, Judy silently delivered a soft kick on her partner's fluffy tail, gesturing him to be their spokesman.

"Oh, sorry," Nick, with paws brought up mimicking the known scene of one superhero movie as if saying ' _we don't do that here'_ , airily refused to answer and further stated the reason. "That's a classified information."

The bunny beside him lightly frowned in disapproval, although deep inside her mind and brain were simultaneously chortling whenever his clever reply came up.

"Don't mind him," Judy nudged her with more force applied, the strength and momentum pushed Nick off his balance just a little and with vulpine natural agility, he swiftly recovered and was standing back on his feet. They traded a smile and Judy finished her statement. "We just happen to know each other a lot."

"With that notion," the reporter had a very faint glint of excitement in the eyes, as if expecting for them to say what she had said. "Public seems to be interested with your relationship."

The other reporters murmur became louder and struggled to push forward in order to make sure their recording device caught the open conference.

The duo officer glanced to each other, furrowing their eyebrow in unison. It was Nick who took the turn again to answer.

"Really?" there was no hint of surprise in Nick's surprised expression, Judy noticed. Maybe she was the only one who had foreseen what hid behind his mask. His next words caused her to chuckle. "Then they're free to guess."

"Have a little manner, slick," Judy attempted to behave within the camera sight, but no sooner than that, she couldn't help but laugh. "But I guess I'll stick with that."

"Now now," the fox crossed his arms and then made shushing motion toward the crowd, fatigue began to take over his body. "Neither of us likes to be interrogated and we need our rest," he worked to clear his way and held Judy arm so that she wouldn't be left behind and assaulted with questions he didn't want to know. "If you please excuse us…"

"One last question!" a cheetah quickly followed and in a flash was already next to them, shoving the mic but keeping safe distance not to breach too close. His voice was sharp, high pitched which had Nick almost cringed. "This is exclusive for you, Officer Wilde."

 _Oh great, another fans,_ the vulpine chuckled.

"Nah, I'll skip-" the officer in question rolled his eyes and thought to just leave him and them but the question held him in place in a short moment.

"How do you feel toward your partner?"

Now that was surprising.

Nick wondered if all cheetahs actually liked to put their nose in other's business, especially about relationship. And for the other note, he couldn't recall if some of journalistic ethics code prohibited them to ask for sensitive personal matter on their job.

Well, he supposed rather than bashing them for the inappropriate interrogatory, it would be much better to avoid giving the satisfaction by answering it.

"That's a weird question," Nick calmly eyed the reporter and shifted his gaze to the street. "No answer, come on Carrots."

But Judy did not budge. Instead, she stiffly held his arm.

"Oh God, not you too?" Nick groaned in utter desperation. Judy threw him a mischievous smile and clutched tighter.

And as to her own interest, she was just _curious._

The fox faintly chuckled and spoke so low she could feel shiver running down her spine as the uncharacteristic deep voice expressed three unfamiliar words.

" _Sine qua non._ "

* * *

The peculiar words kept ringing inside her ears. She found it hard to focus on other task in paw, which happened to only walk home. The phrase buzzed frantically within her mind, unstoppable even against her will.

She fetched her phone and rapidly tapped at the popular search engine on her screen.

"What does that mean?" while looking for the answer by herself, she inquired and sought an explanation.

"You have smartphone," Nick narrowed his eyebrow on the device Judy held, completely aware she had undergone a thorough search but nevertheless pointed out. "Why won't you search it yourself?"

"I did," Judy motioned her phone with the screen lit and displayed the result ; a colorful blog homepage with numerous lines written there. "And I just want to hear it from you."

"You did?" Nick scratched his forearm, at first unwilling to go with the flow. But upon his eyes landed on the amethyst eyes urging the demand, he sighed. "I guess I have no other option?"

Padding the tile in silent, they just realized that they had walked past Nick's room.

"Yes." Judy shortly replied as she turned back, Nick slowly catching up.

The situation was awkwardly _awkward_ ; they had stopped in front of the door, Nick got the key already, the door had opened, but none moved. It took several seconds before the fox inhaled deeply and shortly began recounting.

"You're someone I dote the most, Carrots," Nick spoke, slow and careful. He knew how words were so empty, full of despicable lies, so to ensure her he was being honest, he would go "I'm finding it quite difficult to put in words other than phrasing it?"

"Indispensable?" Judy tried to help. Nick lightly nodded at it although he wasn't entirely satisfied with the definition.

"Someone whom I can't live without?" he snickered at the quite long euphemism, but the result was satisfying.

Judy blinked ; she looked aghast just a moment.

"Now that's deep…" the bunny mumbled, barely audible.

"And that's the truth." Nick nonchalantly replied, getting a light knuckle right on his chest.

"You snarky fox." she grinned and offered a paw as to offer a truce.

"Hey, you're the one who ask." Nick countered, accepting the motion while keeping the cocky smirk on his face.

They held each other paw, fingers fidgeting randomly but not in an uncomfortable way ; a sign of coziness and delight.

"I'm grateful," the bunny eventually said. She smiled, her eyes were fixated at nothing but his emerald pupils. "To have met you."

At the moment, Nick was unable to think something far more better to agree.

"Ditto."


	56. On a Bus

A/N : I wrote this chapter on bus - a great, thrilling experience indeed. I'll be off from my hometown for about 3 days, and I can't make sure if there's connection there. Let's just see later on…

While I'm on it, enjoy !

 _Edit_ : I suffered terrible headache for actually focusing on my laptop during the trip. This will be the first and the last time *sigh*

* * *

It was the beginning of new month. Judy and Nick used a portion of their payment for a vacation ; they would visit multiple place shown in the advertisement. Both would go on bus instead of subway ; the package only offered one choice of accommodation. Nick and Judy didn't find it as bother though. Instead, they were a bit excited with the fact that they were accustomed with going on train and rarely giving a chance on bus.

What came as a problem was that both of them wanted to take a seat close to the window so that they could enjoy the scenery offered during the trip. After a little bicker, Nick was presented the seat while Judy stayed beside him. He had proposed the idea to share the seat since they were noticeably smaller compared with the medium-sized seat suited for mid-sized mammals such as tigers or timberwolves, but without letting Judy sat on his lap, the whole effort would just come as fruitless as nothing – her height fully disallowed her interest to enjoy the view. The idea itself would sound odd, and peculiar enough for the other mammals inside the bus and neither wanted to raise a clamor. She ultimately uttered her refusal, visibly fuming on her seat which compelled Nick to maliciously smirk. The said bunny was now drowning herself with music, the earbud plugged in her ears as she browsed on her phone.

Nick would like to pester her more, but something inside him held his will. It had a slight chance to cause a disaster if Judy lost her mood and subsequently bring catastrophe to their whole vacation. Besides, he could use some view offered, something she couldn't afford and the vulpine didn't want to waste the opportunity given otherwise Judy would just tackle him.

Going with normal speed of 40, the bus drove through main streets and continuously stopped on traffic light. That gave Nick plenty amount of time to watch the moving outlook. Various size of cars occupied the streets, majority of them were painted in light color such as silver, yellow, and white. Tall buildings and skyscrapers erected marvelously, the tip of the structures seemingly reached the sky itself and pierced the fluffy cloud. Along the sidewalks, many mammals served as bystanders, pedestrians, and merchants conversed one another or simply strolled.

The bus also had a large screen of TV on the front part close to the driver. It played an action movie he had seen, and so the interest was taken away and the fox chose to just keep his attention on the street. Furthermore, focusing his eyes on the screen steadily brought a strange pain in his head, and in hope not to end up throwing out to his precious partner, he also chose to ignore the screen.

Unfortunately, the view became dull and monotone once they got to the highway. The change of altitude blocked the mesmerizing view of Zootopia, and only plain blue sky left within his vision. The fox found it hard to keep his eyes open, with many times his elbow almost slipped off and multiple time close to hit his face to the window.

Nick yawned widely, drowsiness beginning to hit his system. He rested his head at the headrest, sighing aloud and closing his eyes. He thought he could use a conversation, so he spoke.

"Carrots, I think-"

There was a sudden weigh on his shoulder. When he turned his eyes sideway, what he found next to him was sleeping bunny resting her head at him. Her sleeping face was serene and peaceful, a small smile planted on her face.

He carefully unplugged her earphone and made sure to safely store it in his pouch. An urge to stroke her head was almost too hard to resist. Not wanting to wake her up, the vulpine did nothing else than smiling and preparing himself for a short sleep.

After all, a nap wouldn't hurt anyone.


	57. Balcony

A/N : There's connection here! What a surprise.

And for another note, this is the first chapter that works chronologically.

* * *

"Nick?"

The room was dark and quiet. Judy entered the room silently and roamed to the wall for the light switch. Within seconds, a click brought the room illuminated by the light.

Her partner was nowhere in sight. She could only see the sheets on her bed was slightly messed, proof that Nick had just been there ; the tiniest reason was at least to test out the queen-sized bed.

The hotel they were currently settling in was magnificent, matching the payment. The room was fairly large, compared specifically to Judy's tiny apartment. Even with two of them booked in one room, it could still fit the duo. Then again, with the concern of courtesy and _again,_ despite their closeness it still felt wrong, they chose to take two rooms.

After putting down her backpack and unloaded some necessary stuffs, she went to visit Nick since their room was just side by side, but found no one there.

"Where areeeee youuuuuu?" she drawled aloud and searched for more evidence of her partner, even looking under the bed and opened the closet and went to the bathroom.

What she needed the most came right after.

"Find me!"

The voice didn't come from the room. She followed the source with her instinct and intuition.

"No hide and seek for adult." Judy cupped her paw close to her mouth, amplifying the amplitude of her call. She was actually luring him to say something more, to measure their current distance.

"I'm a kit, you said it yourself." his hoarse shout became louder, a positive sign that she took the right way.

Following the voice, the bunny walked to the end of the room toward a door. With a light creak, the path led to the balcony was opened. A low music played soft tune welcomed her, mellow and dramatic to enhance the mood. Nick was laying on the quite long sofa, bare-chested and was dealing with his computer.

"There you are." she smiled, subconsciously eyeing his body.

"Mr. Handsome Wilde here, can I help you?" Nick shot a smile back. He had the towel draped over his neck, the only cloth coating the upper body of him.

"You'll get sick if you stay like that." Judy shortly said. Without waiting for his reply, she had gone back to the room.

Nick watched how his partner acted and only snickered.

"They say if it brings pleasure, then just do it." he raised his voice to make sure Judy heard.

"An old adage never gets old, eh?" she reappeared again, but what came in his view was massive moving blanket with bunny feet. In a motion, Judy dropped the weigh off her arms and the thick brown blanket indelicately fell over his body.

The vulpine showed no sign of moving even the slightest, not wanting to shake the blanket off, but not bothering to fix its position either. Judy chuckled and efficiently worked it for him, and Nick genuine gratitude served as for the tradeoff's reward.

"Thanks."

She sat on the wooden table painted in pure black across the sofa, with the notion of no vacant space on the sofa. Gentle night breeze blew, accompanying the serene night. Stars dazzled, the lucent moon shone, dark sky was adorned with various tiny gleaming light. They listened to the song and the peaceful night.

On a certain lyric, Nick chimed in.

"Just like us."

Judy grinned.

"I cannot fathom the proposition?" she quipped with strangely questioning tone.

"Then find out." Nick responded with flippant remark. His tail worked its way out from the blanket and brushed its tip to her cheek.

"Later," Judy laughed, pushing the russet tail. Occupying her paw to juggle the apple, she hopped off and walked to the rail. "I can't get my mind working, for now." she bit her apple and afterward threw it to the fox without turning her back.

"And what does it do?" Nick nimbly got up, leaped and caught the apple, getting a nibble at the other side of the fruit. The difference anatomy of their jaw created distinct difference of the bite size, and the poor apple looked terrible as the result. Judy stole a glance on the approaching figure and stifled a chuckle at the sight.

"Relishing," with a quick glance, her gaze went back to the dark purple horizon. The cold steel met her elbow, but not even the chilling wind bothered her.

It might be cold outside, but warmth never stopped surging inside.

She completed the unfinished statement with a contented sigh.

"The wind, and the company."

Though without directly looking at each other eyes, both concurrently brought up delighted smile.


	58. Perfume

A/N : Because I'm running out prompts, I decide to make a sequel/prequel for previous chapter.

This one is a hint from 'Thunder'!

* * *

Judy was looking at the window and watching the dark clouds began to surround the beautiful Zootopia when the loud knock on her door startled her.

"Wait!" she shouted, the shrill cry resonated across the room as she pondered. The pattern of the knock belonged only to Nick, but it was still 14 minutes before their meeting time. The fox had never been an early guy ; in fact, on almost all of their records, 89.532% of them had Nick coming late with 10 minutes threshold.

There was no time to think. She just needed to keep her eyes on him for a strange difference. Her partner loved to surprise her with anything, and he also loved to implicitly hint her when something was up, like this time.

The grey rabbit hastily went to the door and unlocked it.

Right before her, Nick had his eyes all over her with a rose stuck between his jaw. He wore a grey hoodie with _EVIL_ written on it, the word was separated by the zipper. Both of his paws were stuck in its pocket, and as for his lower body, the vulpine chose his ordinary khaki pants. The whole outfit was modest, but adequate to fill the qualification of delinquent yet handsome mammals.

When she took a whiff, her nose twitched ; something was indeed different.

Hold on…

"I thought you liked apple?" the bunny questioned hesitantly. It definitely wasn't his regular perfume, the one that had become a striking feature of him. She couldn't miss out the fruit scent whenever Nick was approaching, and it didn't present right now. Was it the flower? No, of course not. There was no way a small thing could produce such powerful scent.

Upon witnessing the dubious rabbit, Nick softly chuckled. Never in his life he felt more conceited than now.

"I'm trying something new," while replying her, he picked the rose and swayed its stalk before bowing and gallantly handing it to her, breaking her thought. "Don't you like it?" the fox smirked humorously.

Accepting the flower in silent, Judy stared at his cheerful emerald eyes. Sure, she couldn't say she hated it. It was just strange to have Nicholas Wilde without the apple scent.

Inhaling more of the aromatic scent, she finally could make out the pleasant fragrance ; chocolate.

She supposed he had never been good in fashion, but way too excellent in choice of perfume.

"No answer." the bunny eventually replied and welcomed him in.

Judy only wished she had at least known how chocolate tasted.

Was it as heavenly as its fragrance?

The bunny was left wondering with all the conjectures. At least, the thought of nibbling the _walking chocolate_ in her room had subsided.


	59. Apology

The night was still young. When most mammals took their time to have supper, Judy chose to skip it and instead headed to her favorite café. She lost her appetite an hour before when a particular incident unexpectedly happened, with none other than Nicholas Wilde who set up the entire event. Right now, remembering it added more ire and caused her stomach to swirl, so she decided to push away the thought.

Toffee-24 was relatively empty at the time, with only three tables occupied. The bunny went straight to the cashier to place her order. Here, she encountered the jackal who was clad in striking black apron, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbow. He was no other than the owner of the cafe, who also served as the only barista there.

"What a surprise to see you alone, Lavender," the familiar jackal cashier greeted her in casual friendliness. But the way Judy ignored the call made him whining in protest. "Hey, you're mean…"

"That's not my name, I told you." she climbed and sat on the counter, frowning at him. Judy couldn't say she hated the nickname, but having more than one canine to give her nicknames was kind of annoying. The bunny wondered if all canine was fond to do nicknames.

"But that's a sweet name, dontcha think?" the barista purposely winked at her while drying mugs and plates. He then proceeded to prepare drinks for the customers but keep their conversation alive as he spoke. "Where's Pepper?"

Just like her aforementioned nickname, this Toffee-24 owner loved to call his loyal customers with odd nicknames, specifically manipulating the hidden middle name. Both Judy and Nick had gotten along with him for months, so they didn't take that as an insult.

"Here," she casually lifted the silver bottle of extra seasoning on the table. The jackal sarcastically rolled his eyes whenever he saw the gesture, and the rabbit comically mimicked the expression. "Don't know, and don't care," she responded with no expression, but he noticed a hint of resentment within her calm voice. "Maybe he's in another galaxy."

The canine stifled a laugh at her remark which referred to a sci-fi movie in match with her partner's coincidentally matching middle name.

"Another quarrel?" he concluded as he set number of mugs with different type of drinks on a tray and lightly pushed it aside for the waiter to take and deliver it to the table.

Judy only shrugged and sighed. "I'm just letting some steam off," she replied, the indignation in her words was replaced with obvious mental exhaustion. "I hope you understand."

"I understand," the jackal simply nodded and decided to no longer interfere with her personal – or _their_ – conflict. With a goofy grin, he went back to professional mode and deliberately handed her the menus, although he had recognized her usual order. "Nightingale set?"

Judy did not bother to look at the list and hopped off the chair, heading to the sofa on the corner of the room. Throwing a quick sideway glance, she chuckled.

"Certainly."

* * *

Quite far there somewhere else, a certain glum fox sat patiently and kept his eyes fixed on his phone laying on the bed with his arms crossed on his chest. His agitation was clearly visible with his tails furiously trashing around.

He needed to wait and only _wait_.

A moment later, his phone vibrated softly and in a flash motion, the vulpine opened the message.

It wasn't from Judy, for his disappointment. But upon realizing the text belonged to someone who potentially could help him sort the things out, his whole expression brightened. He had texted him minutes ago to notify him if his partner went there, and boy, once again his guess turned out correct.

 _"_ _She's here."_

Nick would need to pay his debt to the jackal someday. He quickly typed the request he'd been thinking for awhile.

 _"_ _Make her your best blueberry shortcake. My tab."_

The reply came short and clear, a green light for a beginning step to get her back.

 _"_ _OK."_

* * *

Back to the café, the rabbit officer spent her entire time to scroll down her phone in hope to direct her thought somewhere else. At the time, there were not much customers so the silent atmosphere remained. She had accustomed with the pattern that the more the night grew, the more mammals gathered there.

Judy found herself drowned in boredom. Normally, Nick would be here with her and together, they talked about works, planning vacations, trading riddles, or she simply listened to his story as the vulpine named the mammals around and how he met them in his early life, another mental note for her not to question his trait of knowing everyone.

The thought was fortunately interrupted when a figure came within her vision ; Judy didn't want to think of the snarky fox at the moment. Noticing the owner himself walked to her with the tray held high on the air made Judy quirked her eyebrow. Normally, the waiters would deliver the foods and not him in person.

"Here." the canine put down a mug of milk tea, a small plate of mixed strawberry and vanilla cookies, and to her surprise, a medium-sized cake with light blue fondant.

With questioning leer, the bunny held her gaze up on the canine.

"Veron, I never remember I order this." she pointed at the cake, her face scrunched in perplexity.

The said jackal only smiled when it was his turn to explain the reason behind it.

"Let's just say I won a bet and this is a little celebration." he grinned as to confidently assure her it was his treat. On certain occasions, no one would beat Veron's kindness and warm hospitality and this wasn't the first time. Judy understood it would be an offense for him to refuse the present.

"Thanks." the bunny smiled in gratitude, though deep inside still wondered. She would come to an understanding if Veron served it in slices, but a whole cake didn't make sense for her alone.

Before he left the confused bunny, Veron chuckled humorously. "You may want to forgive me because I accidentally sprinkled _something_ on the plate."

The way he said it and how he emphasized a certain word added more hints toward a final conclusion. Judy examined the cake carefully but found nothing. Once she turned the plate, circumstantially shifted the blind spot, she spotted a mess of dark brown powder which almost caused her to sneeze.

Pepper.

She didn't know whether to feel annoyed or surprised. After collecting the misplaced ingredients on a tissue, the bunny pushed away the cake and went to her phone.

Judy swiftly tapped numerous keys on the screen and ultimately tapped the 'send' button.

 _"_ _Is this your best way of apology?"_

Just as she put her phone down to take a sip, it vibrated instantly. Of all mammals, Judy could swear Nick was spending his whole time looking at his phone to the point any of her text would have an immediate reply.

 _"_ _I'm surprised you do text me."_

His text ended with two completely different emoticons sent together ; a smiling face and crying one. The bunny needed not to presume what it meant, for she had known Nick all too well to comprehend that he was both glad but still feeling guilty nonetheless.

With the vulpine had indirectly tried to make amends, Judy didn't feel like she needed to stay angry at him. After all, she couldn't shake off the growing smile on her countenance.

In the past, Veron did label her as _the forgiving maiden_ ; it definitely held a reason. Little did she knew, the jackal on the counter was spying the whole exchange with a satisfied smile.

In the end, whatever happened was no longer matter. And as for herself, a good company to pass the night would be greatly appreciated.

 _"_ _Come,"_ her paw paused for a moment to come up with an unordinary invitation text. _"I need help with the cake."_

Her phone vibrated as she sipped her milk tea, but never occurred for her to look for his reply ; she already knew it.

 _"_ _On it."_

* * *

They invited Veron on the table, which the jackal happily joined in. While keeping their eyes on the cashier if someone wanted to place orders, Veron brought up a card game and asked if they were up for a game.

Spending the short time while waiting for Veron to take another order, they laughed of how the game turned out, how Nick fumed furiously on his consecutive defeat and cursed his karma, and how a simple card game and a cake could bring so much joy.

As the night fell, another unforgettable memory at Toffee-24 slowly took place ; a slice of cake, a slice of life, and a slice of story where apology was deemed necessary to rekindle the harmony.


	60. Between Meeting and Messaging

A/N : 2 months straight! If my calculation were correct, I still missed out one chapter ( or two? ). I'll make it up next month – there are too many heartache this month, unfortunately.

And again, **again,** thanks for keeping up with this story, as well as my regular whining xD and thanks for all your supports, especially Cimar and Spanish guy for the constant review!

 _Note :_ I'm also trying to come up the title with phrase instead of a single word. I believe it does help me to break this writer block.

* * *

"So first, we need to discuss…"

Chief Bogo's deep voice boomed across the room. Most of the ZPD members were gathered inside the conference room for the monthly meeting. Trade of whispers and rustles were immediately stopped when the buffalo began to speak.

Nick quietly exhaled. His shared seat with Judy felt awkwardly uncomfortable with the tension currently lingered. Neither was expert in politics, so following the flow of the meeting proved to be difficult. Even if the rehearsal were initially planned to speak revolving around ZPD and mainly their Precinct matters, the discussion often spread wide to government affairs and political prejudices. That was why both greenhorns didn't like the idea to join the monthly evaluation.

 _This wouldn't be long_ , Nick assured himself.

But still, doing nothing for half an hour with no amusement would need a good patience. Watching how other officers' expression transformed as the subject changed did impress Nick, but did not fulfill his need of entertainment.

An idea popped, in a comical reaction of light bulb appearing on his head. He carefully tore the middle section of his notebook, collecting a sheet of paper. Folding it to half in the way to reduce its size, the vulpine picked his pen and then worked out on the paper, writing something.

At the same time, Judy was still trying to comprehend whatever presented on the bright screen. Her mind was reeling, her eyes were locked, and out of sudden, a soft nudge on her arm shook her out of focus. Glancing sideway, she noticed a paper slipped beneath her arm. When she looked on him, Nick only offered a smile.

The bunny carefully unfolded the paper.

 _'Want to hear a joke?'_

A conventional letter.

Nick was indeed a mastermind of killing boredom.

While restraining a chuckle, Judy fished her carrot pen and began to scrawl text to answer her partner. Though before doing so, she observed the situation shortly to ensure that everyone was absorbed with Chief Bogo's presentation and none noticed their little exchange. It took a moment for her to finish up and examine the result, eyes sparkling and ears perking. As she slid the paper aside, the bunny wore a very proud smirk.

Nick pulled the paper silently, and with quiet motion opened the folded paper.

 _'Nope._

 _I want to_ _see_ _a joke.'_

The underlined word obviously emphasized her point. The canine was amused with the answer ; this was what he needed to endure a senseless discussion. With a click on his pen, Nick did what Judy previously had done ; examining the surrounding. When the situation was clear and safe, Chief Bogo was still explaining their monthly progress, he wrote another line under Judy's writing.

 _'Alright Mrs. Perfect_

 _I hereby remind you with my friend, Flash.'_

The deepest part in his mind predicted how Judy would react once she read his response. He handed the paper and shoved it to her, cocky smirk worn on his face.

As the bunny shuffled on the paper, Nick silently paid attention at her expression whenever the text was revealed. Judy instinctively performed an act of reflex ; she was about to slap her forehead but abruptly stopped and her paw froze midair when Chief Bogo slightly raising his voice.

"Our performance has significantly increased with…"

The mention of escalation would technically end up with showing various statistics, bunch of data visualized in graphic and spherical diagram. While being a cop required average knowledge of data analysis, still once the notion was brought up, it felt like sudden exhaustion crept and created hollow void inside ; most immediately lost interest.

The duo smallest mammals literally paid no heed at the presentation. It was Judy's turn to write as she scribbled slow and firm, also purposely applied incredible pressure with each stroke, jabbing the paper with the tip of the pen and almost perforating the thin paper.

The bunny passed the paper with her own smug smirk. Nick snickered, and while keeping his attention focused on both the presentation and the letter, he found himself drawn to the latter more.

The vulpine did smile at what he saw.

 _'Not. That. N.'_

Had this been somewhere else, Nick would've laughed aloud. To mask and hide the smile, the fox faked a snort and rubbed his nose. With swift stroke, he wrote his reply and threw it on her face.

 _'Chill, it's just another joke._

 _The real joke starts now.'_

Despite her best self-control, she couldn't hold a faint giggle, in which the bunny quickly covered her mouth to prevent a sudden change of center of attention. Some eyes were directed at them and it caused both to fidget apprehensively, but Chief Bogo's sonorous pitch apparently shifted their attention back, to their relief.

To prevent another occurrence to happen, Judy put the paper on her notebook ; from the distance, it appeared that she was taking note of the presentation. Nick watched his partner and grinned goofily while proceeding to mimic the action.

Minutes passed, and Judy had written down her words. She tossed the paper aside and nearly flew off the table. Luckily, Nick caught the letter with a nimble move.

He carefully checked what had been added on the paper.

 _'Oh great, I can't wait.'_

Even by reading the text, a vivid image of Judy rolling her eyes in sarcasm replayed multiple times in his mind. Nick resisted the unbearable will to laugh by chewing the inside his jaw.

They'd been engrossed with the traditional communication to realize that the presentation's slide had reached the conclusion. Funnily, the fox actually had forgotten which joke he intended to say previously as he stuck on his pen.

 _'What do you call-'_

At that time, when Nick was thoughtfully musing for his words, Chief Bogo had finished the lecture with the buffalo shutting down his computer. Murmurs and little chit chat roused, chair shifting and phone beeping, all the while toward the end of the meeting.

On Bogo's regard ; he did witness the _entire_ forum.

"And," the superior cleared his throat and glared at the farthest seat from his place, pointing two of his digits accusingly on the rabbit and fox. "Hopps, Wilde," he called without looking at them and walked to the exit. "I expect you two to meet me later at my room."

That was definitely not a good sign.

"Dismissed."

* * *

Discipline was a necessity for police officers, but neither Judy nor Nick thought that they'd crossed far from the boundaries. In fact, back then Judy spotted a glint of humor in Chief Bogo's death glare which made it contradictorily funny.

Nick cared less. What he cared was that the stupid meeting had ended.

"Well, Officer Hopps," Nick addressed her partner formally as they left the room with the empty note within respective paw. With a chuckle, he continued. "I believe it's worth it."

If only Judy could feign a frown at the moment.

"I'm with you, Officer Wilde."


	61. Once Again

A/N : I missed another day. Have this one first! This has a generic relation with previous chapter.

* * *

 _Once again, she had to deal with the day in the sickening meter maid uniform._

The sun showed no mercy once the duo walked out the department. Breeze of dust particles and vehicle residues welcomed the cops as a particular greeting for a complete outdoor activity.

"You wanna work efficiently or customarily?" Nick questioned on the way to the parking lot. They were generally a question of decision ; if she chose to work efficiently, both would split to different region. If she decided to go customarily, they would just go on one _three-wheeled joke_ and patrolled through only one route.

"I don't care," Judy shrugged in no objections nor agreements. "I just want this to end." while saying so, the bunny pulled the orange outfit she wore in a way to assert her point.

Nick shared the same feeling, but held his mouth shut. "Funny to say that," he instead replied the other way around, and with a jaunty tone whispered a proposal. "Cause I know how to make this end faster."

As much as Judy assured herself not to care, she was interested.

When the rabbit eventually tilted her head, Nick smiled in triumph.

"Wanna make a bet?"

 _Once again, she fell to the shallow of his cunning tricks._

"Alright."

Her utmost confidence with the fact that none had ever beaten her record willingly supported her to accept the wager. Efficient and effective had become her personal trait if it came to work, and though Nick was theoretically smarter than her, what held a bigger influence at the task were speed, dexterity, and agility. Even after Nick passed the training months, Judy was naturally a mammal suitable for swiftness and object tracking.

They drove the small car and parted away, taking a different route on a certain crossroad. The vulpine threw a smirk when the traffic light turned green, and at the moment, Judy didn't bother to comprehend what the smug expression meant ; she would win this anyway.

But boy, her partner was one full of surprise.

During lunch break, they met up at the usual bread store. Ordering some croissants and hot coffee, Judy volunteered to be the first one to show her result.

 _194_

As she watched how his eyes widened in horror, she unconsciously gripped the device tighter and grinned triumphantly. But her face dropped whenever his countenance abruptly shifted into that look that could be read as _'Really?'_

Once he tossed his device, did Judy understand.

 _289_

Before Judy could accuse him for cheating, Nick brought up his phone and handed it to her. There was a video with almost 2 hours length, starting from where they split up and ended on the bread store's door when she skipped almost part to check the validity. The rabbit blinked her eyes several times, and even though she wanted to see every second of the video, Nick's phone battery had ran out with the fact that the gadget had been used to record almost the entire noon.

The vulpine saw her unsatisfied face, for both getting beaten and missing out the evidence of him not simply press the device randomly. He deliberately explained all as they chewed on the pastries.

 _Once again, she added her loss record on the tracks._

While openly accepting her fate being outwitted by the fox, Judy couldn't help but wonder. How Nick could find out that there was such moderate event on the quite secluded region in the Savannah Central and took the advantage to label each of the wild parked car with the ticket was literally a surprise. And, they did not set a rule at the beginning so every of his tickets were technically count.

Still, grim annoyance left a distaste in her mouth, though less bitter than when they were demoted to the parking duty this morning.

 _Once again, she was beguiled by his expressive demonstration._

But once again, and again, and seemingly all the way until the end of her life, she held no regret to lose on him. Actually, losing could be as sweet as winning, depending on to whom you were submitting.


	62. Loafing

"I'm so bored!"

After three lap of patrol, the officers in charge decided to take a short break. If there were no significant change in the past two hours, then five minutes wouldn't do much either. The time felt incredibly short compared with the previous business they were doing. Both had been phoning for awhile when the vulpine out of sudden exclaimed.

From the driver seat, Judy eyed her partner from the corner of her eyes. The cruiser had yet to depart with the engine remained still and cold so she needed not to keep her eyes on the street, but the rabbit chose not to directly look at him otherwise she expected her own self to throw a childish tantrum in linear reaction of his unusual childish outburst.

"Would you rather have a crime to deal with?" she eventually asked. Her paw did not move to start the engine, and her eyes never left the windshield. "It generally means that you prefer to see someone having troubles, Nick."

She could clearly hear his snicker.

"When you put it that way…" chuckling nervously while brushing his snout absentmindedly, Nick glanced on his partner with a sideway leer. "I sound like a selfish asshole, don't you think?"

"Glad you realize," Judy chuckled. Now that the matter had switched, she tilted her face to him and threw a wink. "But nah, I like you that way."

If there were things that was able to perk up faster than lightning, they would be Nick's ears.

"Don't you always like me?" the fox chimed with immense amount of smugness, something that Judy had lately and slowly been accustomed with.

"I have nothing to do at the moment," she shrugged casually. With clear and undoubted pride, the bunny held up a deceiving smirk. "Won't hurt to admire you more?"

Nick drew his sunglasses and properly wore it to hide the beautiful set of emerald eyes and responded flatly.

"Smartass."

"That's my line, fox." Judy remarked with a laugh.

As the conversation flew, the bunny proceeded to start the engine with a swift turn of the key. Before they moved out, Nick looked around to ensure nothing was wrong, and let aloud a series of chuckle.

"So does that implicitly mean," he spoke, soft and barely audible, the calm tune somehow worked up to release the tension of their workload, which currently happened to be so little. "Loafing around is a better idea?"

"I never say it that way," the bunny stepped on the pedal, carefully adding slight pressure on it as the cruiser began to move. There was that spark of mischievousness within her eyes once she spared a moment to face the merry fox. "But technically, yes."

Despite the saying, Judy drove the vehicle for another lap. The main concern was not to get caught by their mighty superior.


	63. Red

A/N : Prepare for another babbles ! ( lol )

I'd been sick in the past 3 days, to the point that I also skipped my classes. I got time to write, but my mind did not contribute much, so I'm now focused to first get better.

In the way to redeem my fault, I removed the 'Daily Update' part on the description until I can make up the _belated_ chapters. To achieve it, I choose to simply do color chapters. These are mostly inspired by _100 Ways to Say_ by VectorCrocodileFangirl. I did make a 'Red' chapter at the beginning, so I replaced the name to avoid double chapter's name.

Short is the word. But then again, it's always better than nothing at all.

* * *

 _Red generally aligned to the feeling called love._

It was the first emotion Nick had long forsaken during his early life. When society aimed it as a personal objective, Nick pretended to be oblivious and completely blind of its existence. The fundamental principle of love was to find someone who you could trust and put faith the most. And he wasn't surprised that he was unable to find one in the whole city.

Trust and love came in sequence. If by any chance Nick met someone who was trustworthy, reliable, and could put a faith in him too, he wouldn't mind to give _love_ a second chance.

 _Red also symbolized the feeling of anger, wrath and fury._

Nick was skillfully good in controlling emotion as a result of several years tied to be an emotionless street mammals, but there were times when it couldn't be helped. Back at the time during their search of Mr. Otterton, after the adrenaline and survival instinct wore off during their escape of the savage cheetah, right when the annoying bunny got admonished by her superior, he should've felt happy that the authoritative officer got her karma for ordering him around.

On the contrary, he felt indignation built up in him, ready to be blown like a flamethrower.

It wasn't the fact that the buffalo had treated his species as completely untrustworthy mammals ; Nick had gotten used to it. It was when he saw how distressed the rabbit was, and the resignation on her face showed nothing but a dream which was about to be thrown away.

It reminded him of his younger self, who lived with no dreams, for them had long been abandoned.

Like a crystal clarity, Nick clearly saw how broken she was. He inwardly loathed of how Chief Bogo turned her down like she didn't deserve to be part of the rank. He internally cursed of how the highest rank of ZPD still applied the view of discrimination. And as much as he was unaware of the bet they had made, the hatred grew even more with the realization that Judy alone, of course with his help, could track evidences this far where none of officers in the department could do so.

The hours he had spent with the bunny had brought him to acknowledge that although he hadn't witnessed her fighting prowess, she was smart and brilliant. That strengthened the reason for her to _stay_ as a police officer ; deep inside, he wanted to see more of what she was capable to do.

And as he stepped in, stating the supporting facts to bring down the admonishment while trying hard not to make his voice cracked in hatred and controlling the flow of his speech not to go too fast in the way to show his agitation, Nick believed that the anger was right to surge.

And he was at the right place to stand for her.

 _Red was the symbol of passion._

The desire to be acknowledged as part of a pack and to have someone trusted him rushed uncontrollably when Judy handed him the application form. Though momentarily bewildered, Nick eventually shook off the shock and the next thing he knew, he was grateful.

Dealing with daily supplies of pawpsicles honestly wasn't his passion. He wanted to do something more. The long forsaken dream of his was to make the world recognize that species shouldn't hold back any mammals from their dreams like what he experienced.

That day, he discovered back the life to fulfill the fiery passion, an ardor of benevolences.

* * *

That was the past, and this was the present, where he and Judy ran together toward their respective dream.

During their way to the unknown future, he couldn't fathom the possibilities if somehow, the mentioned red feelings developed to a brand new level, where the utmost emotion also known as _love,_ took place.


	64. Orange

_Orange represented contentment, the endless waves of joy and happiness._

The first thing came in mind whenever the color was mentioned was none other than the sun. Unlike her partner who never loved sun, Judy found an undying fondness to it since she was a kit. Accompanied by a fresh brewed chamomile tea, served in the ceramic mug with sunflowers painted on its surface, she often spent her dawn and dusk waiting for the orange sphere to glide over the horizon. She liked to think that sunrise signaled the beginning of the day, while sunset apparently became the natural announcement that it was the time to end the work and enjoy the remaining time until the next sunrise.

Lately though, the mug and the warm tea had been replaced with a rather noisy fox trivially commenting the view. She couldn't say she hated it, with his blabbers completely ruined the serenity. But despite so, the warmth she experienced was literally doubled.

With the mention of the vulpine, there presented the second orange thing she grew attached to ; her charming partner. Nick was classified as _red fox,_ but in her eyes, his furs were naturally affiliated more to the shade of orange. Much to her delight, the certain orange had been becoming daily encounters, anytime and anywhere. One of her favorite was when he fetched her before strolling together to the office. He would be seen on the doorway, leaning on the door sill with his arms crossed, sometimes holding a sweet-scented tulips which normally ended on her porcelain vase as an additional collection, or simply given to her as a special mood-booster for the day.

The order of the mention did not state the level of the fondness. Both provided certain warmth whenever they took place, and though the feeling was completely different, neither could entirely replace another.

She simply loved both.

Oh, and the third thing was carrots. But unless she was starving, the tubers didn't do much for her happiness compared with the first two.

* * *

On the first page of her notebook, a pale white sticker was glued on the middle section. Rather than name of the owner, a lame quote instead was written with italic words.

It was Nick's gift during Thanksgiving, peculiar but oddly satisfying to read.

 _"_ _Orange is the color of carrots. But then again, so am I."_


	65. Yellow

A/N : 5 more to go !

* * *

Yellow was naturally the brightest color. Every time the colors appeared within eye vision, it would always attract attention for its unmistakable vivid property. Yellow shone like a sun, bringing happiness and joy along with it.

When Judy was naturally bright and jubilant, Nick didn't fit the quality. Back in the past, he couldn't comprehend how on earth people could feel joy. He made his living, conning and outwitting others, and he thought he was happy. But the feeling became an abstract theory once a certain rabbit invaded his territory, and he started to reconsider if he had been happy during the days in the shadow.

Now though, both were simply happy with the outcome as the Night Howler's case was put to an end. Both became even happier when Nick finally joined the force and was accepted without dealing with any bigotries ; instead, their colleagues welcomed with open arms. There were no exact parameters of happiness, but the way they reveled in their daily routines showed that they were feeling merry and happy.

* * *

There was a fatal downside of being a bright color. Because it was so bright and lucid, it could be easily tainted with other colors. Even the closest and the analogous color of it, namely orange and green, smeared the vivid color with no difficulties. Imagine if even darker colors were about to dominate the cheery yellow, such as brown, purple or black ; they would easily ruin the yellow.

 _Happiness was temporary._

Judy understood that nothing lasted forever, including the delightful life she was having with her precious partner. Many things could harm the seemingly everlasting joy, and with the fact that they fully accepted the primary concern of submitting to be a part of police officers; there could be potential dangers ahead they were unaware. They could result in nothing, light bruises, severe wounds, or even _deaths_. No one could foresee what awaited them, and it became mutual agreement that the job was condemned with particular risks and consequences.

But for now, they were still happy and most importantly, alive. The yellow had yet to be tainted, and the happiness still remained. When would the colors began to fade was unknown for them, but for now, it was still yellow.

For that, she chose not to think about such things.

She just wanted to focus on the yellow, not the others.


	66. Blue

A/N : The third color should be green, but it ended up way longer than I expected. So, let's skip it few steps and go on with something shorter

 _Edit_ : I reconsider. This turns out to be longer as well ( lol )

* * *

 _Blue had long been known as the calm and peaceful color._

The first time Nick looked for better and convenient apartment as a replacement for his currently leaky one, one of the main concern he would ask to the landlord was if repainting the walls would be permitted. Much to his disappointment, most of them did not allow such adjustment. And to irritate him further, they also asked the reason.

If only he could tell them that plain brown was literally dreary.

He sought for one which had the best inner decoration, and blue walls was listed as the utmost priority. It gave him the soothing feeling, and shouldn't _home_ be defined as _that_? Rather than sleeping in a room surrounded with bleak colors, he would rather sleep outside on an open space where sky became his ceiling and no walls to oppress him.

All those efforts, because he had admired blue since he was a kit.

 _Sky._

Nick used to staring at the sky at his free time, on the day where pawpsicle was off from sale and when he simply wanted to waste his time. The stone bridge and thousands weeds behind it accompanied him during the sky gazing. He liked to trace certain clouds which he found cute, and he held no grudge if the sky were clear with no clouds ; it was still heavenly to watch.

It never occurred in his mind that having a company who shared the similar liking could feel that delightful.

After becoming police, he rarely spent his time there. Instead, on the sunny day of his work day, he frequently stole glance up there, only to adore the cobalt horizon.

 _Sea and ocean._

Nick infrequently went to beach. The salty air felt uncomfortable against his furs, and another threat was the sand particles flying everywhere whenever little mammals passing by. For another note, he just couldn't comprehend why it was way hotter at the beach compared with _anywhere_.

There were times when he and Judy paid a visit to the South Quay, where he could enjoy the ocean with less threat. Judy usually brought cooling box containing lemonade cans and fruit punch ice creams as their snacks. The air was less sticky, and it bothered him less ; he could bear with it much more than going to beach.

 _Blueberries._

Nick developed a profound love on the succulent berry. The whole ZPD members recognized his infatuation toward the fruit, and it became a trend of jokes whenever he somehow came across his colleagues during off-day that they would ask which one he liked the most ; the berries, or Judy.

He chose to laugh as his answer ; after all, that was the purpose of joke, wasn't it?

 _Police uniform._

Nick cherished the navy suit as if his life depended on it. Technically it wasn't true, but the exaggerating protectiveness had already claimed it as part of necessity. Owning three sets didn't mean that he could be less protective ; rather, each one was treated equally.

Actually, he had four of them. The last one was secured in a small suitcase, neatly folded along with black tie and other accessories. These were the suit he wore during the graduation day. The memory of the ceremony brought rushing emotions, mingled feelings he couldn't name.

He had that stupid dream that years later when he had a kit who wanted to follow his father way to become police officer, he would gift them with the suitcase and motivate them to find partner that could understand him well enough.

And that was not all of blue ; combined with certain color, blue could transform into something he recently found himself falling in love more than ever.


	67. Purple

Purple was the fusion of passionate red and calm blue. The completely opposite characteristic created a unique combination, resulting in a special nature on its own.

Devotion.

Nick never for once claimed that he was a devoted mammal, and the object of his devotion was never mentioned either. However, what his friends witnessed seemed to bring the question arise with how the vulpine acted every day.

If he could not be honest, at least he could be a little discreet about it.

* * *

If we looked back in the past, on the archaic tradition there was an old saying that purple was corresponding to dark artistry and runic sorcery. The color had traditional association with what nowadays people called as magic, although what they defined as magic could vary.

Like how a magician could summon pigeons from an empty hat,

Or how fortune teller could foresee what resided in the future,

And perhaps, how simple the color of eyes could captivate the ever adamant fox.


	68. Pink

A/N : I'm confused of where should I begin with this color. This is what I can think of, so please enjoy and leave your thought :d

* * *

As a female, Judy couldn't say she disliked pink. She stored few of pink-colored clothes, yet they rarely caught her eyes whenever the rabbit looked up for something to wear. The color was striking and sweet, but Judy despised the way the color led to a misassumption of feminine concept. And recently, she was more into darker colors than the lighter one such as dark blue, gray, or plain black.

But all the sentiments of pink were diminished on that day.

* * *

"So what do you want for me to wear?"

The holiday began with an odd question from the bunny. Normally, she would choose by herself, knowing that her partner's taste of fashion wasn't entirely reliable. Today, the bunny gave it a shot.

"You look good in anything?" Nick replied in charismatic tone yet deliberately made it sounded unsure. Judy caught the hidden intention of flattery and giggled.

"Bad fox, Nick. Bad fox." she wagged her finger on him in the 'tsk-tsk' way.

"As if I know every single clothes you have inside that closet." Nick nonchalantly shrugged, but held up a playful grin on his face.

"Come and pick." she purposely walked aside so that Nick could clearly take a look of the collection of her outfits, starting from dresses, blouses, and many more.

"Fine," the vulpine drummed his fingers on his elbow, but did not move. With a digit, he pointed at a certain shirt hung in the dresser. "The one you wore during our fateful day."

 _Fateful day_ was a simple phrase for them to refer the day where they reunited and faced numerous predicaments toward the grand finale where the ram's crime ultimately was put to an end. So to summarize the request, he had suggested the plaid pink shirt.

"Oh…" Judy mumbled, a bit surprised of his straightforward choice instead of toying around. The bunny pondered if Nick actually liked the color. Just as she was about to ask, her partner shook his head.

"Don't ask me why," Nick momentarily glanced away, whispering the next line which was barely audible even to her. "Seems like I'm in mood to recall the memory."

The vulpine rarely showed an obvious sign of being uncertain, but she decided not to push her luck.

"So you're up to demolish another train?" Judy grinned as she brought the clothes out and took it off from the hanger. With a little wave of paw, the rabbit gestured for the male to leave the room for a while.

"Oh please, Carrots," with a light laugh, Nick headed out to give her space and slammed the door close.

Minutes passed, and the door finally opened.

"Let's go," Judy shut the door close and locked it. When she finished, Nick was still standing in the middle of the hallway, staring at her blankly. "Nick?"

He blinked twice and then slightly tilted his head. The expression was simply adorable, Judy mused.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly, and a warm smile adorned his bright countenance. "It's been a while, huh?"

"Yeah-" she quickly replied but was cut short.

"I still remember how you wept miserably," the fox's lips curled up into a cocky smirk. As her response, Judy yanked his tie hard he almost stumbled and fell over. "Whoops, my bad." while regaining his balance, Nick winked at her in an assuring way that he meant no offense.

"At least it worked?" Judy understood, and she couldn't help but smile as the memory crossed her mind. It couldn't be bitter, but she didn't agree to call it sweet either.

"It worked," Nick replied with a nod as they began to walk. "Mostly."

He would never forgive himself if he ever saw Judy crying her heart out like that time again.

As they padded toward the main door, Nick suddenly spoke.

"Wanna hear a truth?" the usually confident fox sounded reluctant, his trademark smirk had been missing, and as he talked, he did not look at her. Three of the concerns allowed Judy to let herself nod at the question.

Only if she realized _those_ were intentional to lure her to fall into his trick.

"I can't say no to you in that suit." he chuckled upon seeing Judy's bewildered expression. To further explain his point, Nick continued with unexpected remark. "You're adorable in pink."

At that time, her brain went completely frozen hearing the genuine compliment.


	69. Green

A/N : The second special chapter 'Verdant' is technically still categorized as green. As the result, I make a different approach for this chapter. I'll let you know that I have to remake this chapter almost five times xD

Enjoy!

* * *

Green was the personification of jealousy and envy.

Nick never thought himself to be one, and didn't even believe part of it was present deep inside him. At least until the talk about their past life, including a part which coincidentally involved prior love life was mentioned.

It looked like nothing was wrong at first when Nick smugly opened up that he had had a crush back in the past. But once Judy told her tale, it happened.

"I still loved him though."

For anyone else, ears flattening and eyes squinting would be deemed as something regular. But for Nick, it definitely was irregular.

"Why Nick," Judy quipped, full of conceit, upon seeing a noticeable frown on his scrunched face. "Are you jealous?"

"Just simply thinking." he calmly stated. The fox internally tried to muster a smile but somehow, he couldn't.

"I never see you as a possessive type, but let's not talk about it," the bunny cheered him up in the way he was able to avoid by spinning on her heels and dancing around mirthfully. "The hint is, I _loved_ him."

"Yes, you told me that." Nick chuckled softly, letting the concern slowly fade away.

"Interpret it." Judy let her face lolled aside, subsequently brushing her ears against his furs.

That did not take long for his captivating grin to take place on his smiling face when he finally realized the usage of tenses.

"Does it still remain?"

"No."

It remained on _someone_ _else_ instead, with his particular gleam of green eyes.


	70. Gray

A/N : Five more chapters! I was doing an experiment chapter for Chapter 75, which by looking at the pattern of previous chapters, ought to be special chapter. Let's hope that I can manage to catch up for it.

* * *

Gray was the dull, tedious color. The hue varied based on the composition of black and white, depending on which intensity was stronger. But theoretically, grey always stood between black and white ; the equilibrium of opposite entity.

The meaning of balance in life, as to affirm that there was existence between the darkest time and the happiest moment.

The state of not being completely happy, but not being entirely sad either.

The color in which he'd relentlessly encountered every time, everywhere.

When he looked up, the visualization of cloudy sky was the offering to solace the need of entertainment. He'd prefer clear cobalt sky, but even the murky horizon could somehow bring up smiles.

Well, as long as it wouldn't abruptly resolve into heavy rain.

When he looked down, the pale dove pavement and light gray concrete greeted his eyes. Often, he spotted numerous rubbish scattered on the street, in which he instinctively picked and dumped to the trash bin. They ruined the completeness of grey color, and by doing so, he showed others how to be a well-mannered citizen.

When he looked anywhere else, it was hard to miss a particular grey lagomorphs as it had become the particular grey which apparently his soul regarded the most.


	71. Black

A/N : Be sure to check out previous chapter! When I do double update, usually the first chapter is mostly missed out.

* * *

Black could be achieved with all presents color combined into a single mixture of entity. A void of emptiness despite the presence of multiple hue, the identity color of darkness.

Black was not wonderful. It wasn't an enticing color either. Black was literally the way Nick lived his life. Living undercover, the fox relentlessly ventured beneath the shadow making sure to save his tail but also making profit. In other word, black was an alternate escape of the cruel world.

The world of bigotry and zealotry.

He'd been associated with the color for long. He'd seen how world revolved around with inequity, how the stronger ones eradicated the chance to survive of the weaker ones. He'd witnessed how one could fall to the hollow feelings, the treacherous ideas eventually won against the realistic thoughts.

He realized that he might have been escaping from the reality too much, and he knew that too much black would soon drown him into nothingness. He sought for the time when he would find a reason to leave the black behind, and courageously step into the light.

And the decision proved to be an excellent choice.

* * *

He still liked how black was deemed as the _cool_ color aside from blue and red. He still loved to dress in black, and reveled in the compliments from his partner of how marvelous he was in the suit. The dark color still presented in his choice of favorite color nonetheless.

But one thing for sure ; he had no intention to hide in the black anymore.


	72. White

White was the color of purity, the existence of no colors. It was pure, untouchable and remained unspoiled.

Almost no one was pure white. A faintest smudge of colors would smear the purity, and everyone certainly had a trait of particular color in them. There might be insignificant chance that someone didn't own a special characteristic color though. But being only white, or pure in the case, probably was not the best ; you weren't unique, you were just like anyone else. It might be wise to stay colored as to retain uniqueness, but not too much to grow into pitch black.

White made any colors grew lighter.

Combination of color gave a different hue and distinctive saturation. White literally complemented any colors, but too much white would be blinding and could swallow the spark of the color. But as long as the intensity did not entirely remove the identity of color and turn it into complete white, it should be okay.

White was calming.

Judy liked snow and loved clouds. Any negative feelings died out quickly once the mentioned matters showed up. Blue was calming, but white brought the soothing sensation to a whole new level.

But most importantly, white meant righteousness, something in which Nick at first believed it did not exist, but now held on tightly.


	73. Colorless

A/N : My apology for the missing updates. I've been going through rough weeks - I need to deal with these things and go home around 3 AM almost every day.

Second thing is, I plan to follow the Inktober 2018 for the prompts, but there are almost ten chapters need to be done before going to October. I'm rather confused now.

* * *

Colorless.

It flawlessly depicted how Nick's years in the past. With each minutes skipped, each hours flown, each days gone, each weeks passed, each months traversed, and each year sailed through, the vulpine survived with no differences in each of it, no feelings involved, no worries included. They were simply bleak, dreary, tedious, and emotionless.

He saw world in monochrome ; partially white, and partially black. Nothing more, nothing less. If they weren't dark shaded of dismal stuffs, they would stick to plain white but nevertheless still escaped from his notice.

The world was simply not interesting, boring and held no challenges. For almost two decades he signed no protests, breathed no whines, asserted no guff, stated no grudges, commented no single stuffs, and directed no hatred. The fox had nearly lost the ability for empathy and sympathy, and cared less and even lesser the more he saw how injustice grew and how cruel the world became with year after year passed.

But once Judy got along, he saw more than just black and white.

More than just monochrome world.

More than just seeing. It was also how to feel.


	74. Colorful

A/N : Let me finish these color chapters before moving to Inktober prompts! And thanks for the supporting review!

* * *

Colorful.

Within dictionary, it was defined as _having much or varied color_ and _full of interest, lively and exciting_. Within Judy's personal dictionary, it had little difference with the latter but went along quite well with it. Within Nick's point of view, it stood between prior and latter depending on the situation and condition.

When he was a kit, he saw Zootopia as the heaven, where dreams and hopes were floating around like bubbles slowly descending to the sky, people smiling happily and offering encouraging gestures, uncountable jubilant crowds occupied corners of the city, and so on. Back then, he was too small and naïve to realize that those were just an act of covering the bitter reality and truth ; those were just lies.

Whenever he himself experienced the most bitter part of his life, he vowed to eliminate any naivety left in him and grow up despising whatever around him. He insisted with the antics, as long as he had yet to meet someone who proved him that he was wrong.

And there was Judy.

Now his eyes were back open to see how worlds consisted of divergent colors. The different hue of black and white were now converted into countless shade of colors, each divided into multiple saturation and painted earth and sky. Now he could appreciate how trees were brown and green of trunks and leaves, how sky darkened to purple when the night come, and how the murkiness of the sky dispersed and shifted into bright yellow and orange during the sunrise. He liked how his eyes danced to watch the ice cream stalls serving various flavor, where most of the times his eyes ended up on the navy colored dairy product, namely blueberry flavor. He never argued to spend his weekend at the Tundratown only to watch mound of white snow and mammals wearing thick clothing where oddly, majority of them were red in color. It reminded him of Santa, the fairytale he was told during his youth.

Nick learnt that gift weren't just limited on money, stuffs and physical things. Sometimes, good companies could also be count as precious gift he would cherish until the end of his life.

One that would make his life so colorful, so meaningful.

Most importantly, one that brought him back where he could value the beauty of the world again, just like how he used to.


	75. True Color

A/N : I'M BACK GUYS! WOW, it's been quite long of my sudden hiatus. And good news for you all ; one down, four more yearly tasks to complete. These past days are hell, but at least I can make some time for now. Be ready for series of updates later on!

Anyway, based on my calculation, I'll have to catch up to Chapter 79 before going to October. Four more to go toward Inktober prompts!

Note : I hate when I update a chapter but the site doesn't count it as update ( the story did not get refreshed ). What a nuisance… be sure to check previous chapter if you haven't!

* * *

A surprising weak point.

 _Nick couldn't stand long watching emotional movie._

The fox would end up burying his face on the pillow, hiding any evidences which usually was in shape of tears. He could mask the expression, but not the audible sniffles.

When Judy first found out the bewildering truth, she couldn't hide the perplexity. For a typical delinquent guy, Nick suited well with the general traits consisting of being a good-looking mammal, sometimes could go quite cynical, usually cocky and liked to self boast, and appeared as an adamant person. With those characteristics, Judy was half surprised and half not to find out that Nick was that type of guy who looked tough outside but was fragile and soft inside ; the act of being strong was for the sake to cover up the soft spot inside him.

But not even a single laugh escaped from her. She offered him a smile, not a mocking one but rather in comforting and supporting way, while also gently rubbing his arm. The bunny made a mental note to pick up an action and sci-fi movie more than a piece of romance comedy. She knew that almost every movie had the emotional parts, be it deaths or saddening parting away or anything else, but at least that was what she could do.

...

 _Judy had an astraphobia._

Before long, no one would've expected that else than her family, not even Nick. If someone asked the vulpine who were the bravest and the strongest officers on the rank, Nick would confidently name Judy among them. She who knew no fears and did not think twice to charge whenever situation demanded, certainly following the plan created before and not only making stupid rushing move. He was unable to express his awe on her undaunted charisma, and left it for his internal appreciation on her.

Nick was aware that everyone had a weakness, and during his early time with her, he almost thought that the bunny was perfect and held none. But once heavy rain, or properly named as _storm_ hit the city, did he discover her weak point that actually was her strong point as well ; sensitive hearing.

At the time, neither of them brought umbrella so they chose to take shelter on the closest awning. Both were laughing on his cheesy jokes when the thunder cracked aloud.

Just like how Judy did not laugh on him, so did the fox on her. Now that he knew it, it became an unvoiced vow on him that he would help her to overcome it. If he couldn't assist to entirely get rid of it, at least being on her side during the tough time would certainly be helpful.

* * *

A little secret of appetite.

 _Nick secretly had an infatuation to maple syrup at least equal to or more than blueberries._

His partner had just made the important discovery whenever she took a notice that during his visit two days ago, a bottle was miraculously switched place when at first it was in her drawer and still sealed and fully untouched, which then she found it stuffed in her trash bin and was left empty.

Whenever the matter was mentioned in the office the following days, Nick acted as innocent as possible and constantly shrugged on the question without missing a particular grin on his face. Once they got home and strolled the street to the subway, Judy chose to ask it for the last time. She did not demand him to pay it back, but only to satisfy her curiosity.

This time, he answered.

"Why won't you buy more?"

It became apparent that the request implicitly strengthened her suspicion, and she couldn't hide her smile. After all, what wouldn't she do for him?

...

 _Judy needed weekly portion of carrots to stay fit._

The orange vegetables didn't solely serve as a favorite dish, but more like an obligation which would affect pretty bad on her if not being fulfilled properly.

It happened once when they were dealing with a case which rendered them almost entirely occupied in day and night for consecutive six days. Once the treat wore off, both were given two days to complete the report and then they could take two days off as well. During the past week, they completely messed up their meals and just chose over fast foods available in midnight since they were focused to discover the main criminal during the day.

On the first day in early morning, Judy texted him that he shouldn't fetch her and just go straight to the office. Nick decided to comply with it and chose to visit her on lunch break, and he did so. Whenever he entered the small room, the particular bunny was resting on her bed covered in blanket. She didn't look good, but when he approached and asked her to explain, Judy never said she was sick. It literally wasn't a sickness, even though it rendered her body almost completely limp. But still, once she told the symptoms were exactly as what she had been expecting whenever she forgot to supply her body with carrots, it still counted as illness for the vulpine.

Nick had never been good in chemistry, but he wouldn't need much time to comprehend it meant that certain nutrients could only be found on carrot ; it was strictly necessary for rabbits and couldn't be substituted. And so the days afterward, Nick placed a reminder every Wednesday and Sunday on his phone to remind him to _remind_ her not to forget her weekly carrot time no matter what they were dealing.

* * *

And some daily concern to struggle every day.

 _Nick actually struggled to form his tie._

At some time after his laundry done, Nick would just throw the piles of clothes haphazardly on the bed only to look for the tie. Rather than wasting much of his time on morning and risking to arrive late and get what he named as _detention_ from Bogo as to think this was high school, he'd chosen to make sure everything was ready at the previous night, including this one matter.

It was quite surprising that one who normally wore a tie on different set was in fact having a tough time setting up his favorite complementary part of fashion. The fox did not find difficulty on _making_ it, but having it on certain length he liked proved to be a tough task. Redoing it multiple times somehow showed him that with each try, he seemed to make an improvement so that he came to a stupid conclusion that trying hard on it served as a prerequisite in order to create something perfect, which in this case was a tie.

...

 _Judy, on normal occasion, would politely refuse the offer to drink, but there was something nagging her curiosity._

Being a cop meant that there would be stressful times and one well-renowned way to release the strain and tension was heading to a bar and let everything flow there. It wasn't the whole point but at least it was what Judy saw whenever her friends invited her to come along, of course whenever Nick was tagged with her. Females like Pennington and Fangmeyer, in her assumption, were naturally a party mammals and wouldn't hesitate to come along. But even though Nick was invited as well, Judy still didn't like the idea to pay a visit there.

There was one thing she couldn't deny that she liked to know though ; she was simply curious of how Nick would act in the bar.

The rabbit wouldn't go far to the point of witnessing her partner got drunken and cutely began to ramble utter nonsense and narrating his past stories, but the idea of being in a dim place with mellow music and surrounded with completely different atmosphere itself definitely would make a huge difference with his common antic. Would that make him being more to who he really was, or would that make no change on him?

She could only find that out _if_ she agreed to come along.

* * *

True colors didn't just stand for bad things ; sometimes, the more you paid attention and spent time with someone, the more you understood that mammals were not simple where some might be highly complicated while others remained somewhat hard to understand but could be read through. Those weren't all, both Judy and Nick believed. It would take more time for them to be able to open up whatever left as secrets, up until none left. Of course, there might be parts which they would like to keep for themselves no matter what, and wasn't that the point of secret?

But if they chose to let someone know, they wouldn't need to think who would that be.


	76. When can I see you again?

A/N : This was inspired from Owl City's song I listened yesterday. For another note, I can somehow say that this is an alternate version of ' _Months_ ' chapter.

If you haven't checked out previous chapter (75), be sure to do!

* * *

The days on Bunnyburrow never changed. A week in Zootopia could hardly match against years in the carrot farms and doing the family business in term of boredom. Then again, Judy had resigned and there was no point of thinking back there. Under the awning of small stall she occupied, the bunny spent her entire day doing the mundane task.

In every instance of daydreaming whenever she lost her focus, she found it odd to think that the regret grew stronger with every tick of clock. Frankly, it wasn't about her leaving ZPD, but more to the previous event which left her brokenhearted.

And him, as well.

The smart fox was literally the second friends she made in the city with the first belonged to Clawhauser, if Bucky and Pronk were completely nullified with the fact that she only traded 'hi' on the neighbors. Nick had helped her so much, and what caused her heart to ache was the fact that not a single media on television credited him ; they said Bellwether was arrested solely by a newest member of ZPD which happened to be a bunny officer, nothing more and nothing less.

When the day was relatively dull, Judy utilized night time for her personal space, consisting of thinking and _thinking_. Almost every night, she would go alone to her family's playground where no one would be there at the time and sat on the swing, relishing the tranquil atmosphere. Judy did not believe in counting stars, but occasionally, she found herself looking up at the sky, seeking for an answer she would never obtain up there.

She didn't hesitate to write everything crossed her mind on her small notepad with a regular pen, since the carrot pen had changed ownership for now. Guided by the moonlight and the flash from her phone, Judy wrote so many words in random pattern. There was one big writing occupied the first page and circled with blue ink ; she had scribbled the main problem in her mind in hope to help her feel a bit better.

 _When can I see you again?_

Below the fine writing, there were two straight lines drawn that stood for the possibilities of the answers for the question, each headed to opposite direction.

 _You will_ and _you won't_.

The bunny had long noticed that Nick surprisingly marked both yes and no on the application form section eight. It was funny to remember, but upon recalling how the vulpine expressed his disappointment wiped away the smiles on the memory. Nevertheless, it taught her that she needed to stay positive with every chance given, and so the _'you won't'_ part was crossed red. That concluded her determination and built a mental support on her so that every time she looked up on the note, it would always bring the positive vibe.

 _"_ _When can I see you again?"_

 _"_ _You will."_

* * *

Judy was grateful that Nick genuinely accepted her apology without any grudges. The gratitude flew to another level when the fox asked if the offer of partnership was still open. Within days, they had settled the registration and ready to go.

She escorted him on his departure, and thought how happy she was to have someone wanting to commit into a partnership with only two days knowing each other. It would take time though, and this was the first step toward it.

As Nick entered the train and waved goodbye, she did nothing but smile. Then realization hit her that nine months wasn't exactly short. Who would thought that she had to one more time bear with another parting?

Just like when she longed to see him back in Bunnyburrow, every night was spent in total silence. But instead of going to playground, she simply loafed on her bed while hugging a medium-sized polar bear doll. They bought it a day before Nick left for the training session, and it was safe to say that the doll was a gift from him since Nick paid it. Funnily, the cotton plush never reminded her of Kevin and friends, because it was way cuter than the scary-looking gangster even though both were literally the same species.

They texted in the night, telling one story to another until nothing left and as they thought hard how to prolong the conversation, one of them usually asked for jokes. The aforementioned matter had no end, and the ring of midnight served as the end of their chat. Neither was used to bid farewell formally, so they simply sent stickers of sleepy character and saying good night to each other.

Every once in a while, she still sent him the question on random occasions, which he was fond to reply short and clear every time it happened.

 _"_ _When can I see you again?"_

 _"_ _Soon."_

* * *

Like strands of wool being tucked and knotted together, here they were presently. Neither had the thought of another parting since they were now partners. There were conditions where one of them would be sent specifically for a certain job, but it never lasted more than a week. Judy bothered less to count on time whenever Nick was coming along with her, and so did Nick ; they would shortly lose the count anyway. What was more important to them was to enjoy the time, and not being strictly organized by it.

The respective presence alone brought so much joy, as well as the person and the character.

Sometimes, she liked to pull a corny joke by asking the odd question which could safely be assumed require no answer.

"When can I see you again?"

The vulpine would then pull his face away with a made-up look of disgust, which she could hear him saying _'eew'_ even though he didn't. Seconds later, it morphed into furrowed eyebrow and narrowed eyes, as if asking her sanity. She would nudge him, and he would chuckle, and it began again in smoother way.

"When can I see you again?"

"Anytime."


	77. Smile

There was something wrong with Judy, Nick finally concluded during their stroll back to home after a day full of works. Not only she had been extremely quiet after their quick breakfast, but she seemed to be in hurry as if wanting to go home as soon as possible. They talked, but simply to trade information and no laughs were taking place. Jokes had been given, but the bunny definitely had built a tough resistance and didn't fall to any of them.

It was annoying for Nick to see Judy like that. And lastly, having to walk home in utter silence was literally awkward. He ought to stop it now.

"You're missing something," Nick suddenly spoke. The conversation quickly took place with Judy responding on it although slightly disinterested with the matter.

"What?" she raised an eyebrow on him. There was no emotion in her voice, like she had been so drained mentally. Part of her convinced herself that he was just joking, and the other part hoped that he didn't mean it.

"Figure it out, maybe?" without shifting his stare away from her eyes, Nick replied clumsily. The emerald eyes reflected only dim image of her within his sight, so she couldn't tell what was going on.

Judy instinctively began to rummage and check her pocket for her stuffs ; wallet and phone were both safe, her key was also present. She had left her pen on her drawer back at the office, so did her notebook. What would be missing?

"We both know I'm not in the mood for riddles, Nick," the bunny flatly said, the tone used making it sounded more like a warning. If he were toying around with her by stealthily snatching something from her, she wasn't sure she could stand it at her current condition without at least barking a series of angered admonition.

"I know," Nick grunted, somehow giving the faint impression that the fox didn't really like this whole exchange either. Nevertheless, he shrugged and kept it up. "It isn't hard though," he finished awkwardly and glanced away.

That was it.

"I'm leaving you-"

Before she could perform her signature quicksteps, Nick had latched his arm on hers, immobilizing her at place.

"This is important," he whispered sternly, his eyes were back locked on hers and showed no hint of humors. "I don't think you'll live without it,"

Judy was about to protest but ultimately she spoke nothing but frowned at him. Within the next minute, she saw it in crystal clarity and strangely in slow motion that the curve of his lips began to curl up, forming a warm smile. That smile then grew into a toothy grin, a trait of him that never failed to amuse her regardless her state.

 _I don't think you'll live without it._

Was it a hint for whatever she was missing? If by any chance Nick meant it, then it wouldn't be physical stuffs since she never relied on things.

The remark became apparent when her frown slowly left her face, and her expression became neutral.

"You're doing great," Nick noticed the change in her mood and said in encouraging tone. He put his paw on his cheeks, making an upward motion. "A little bit more!" he exclaimed, and no sooner than that her partner shrunk and looked around to see if he had been too loud for anyone around to notice their little talk in the middle of sidewalk.

Seeing the fox's humorous action caused Judy to unconsciously smile. As Nick witnessed it, he couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. In response, Judy shook her head, unable to hold her astonishment that such action could bring smile on her. Was it the thing that had been missing from her the whole day? The rabbit spent a brief thoughtful moment to recall how the day went, and remembered not a single time.

Perhaps, it was what Nick wanted for her to realize.

"See? Just like me, come on!"

Then it happened ; she laughed. Like for the first time in the day, she finally let out the cheerful expression, heartwarming and ringing like a bell in Christmas which sounded full of joy.

"You know," Judy exhaled in satisfaction and kept the smile on her face. She couldn't express her gratitude to her partner for his attempt to cheer her in the way she didn't think it would work, and so she didn't speak much other than agreeing on the term he had mentioned before. "I think you're right."

Deep inside, Nick wanted to celebrate the moment of rejoice to be able to bring that smile back, but managed to hold the urge. At least, it was worth it.

"To be honest," the fox held up a wry smirk and purposely winked at her mischievously, eliciting a chuckle from the bunny. The chuckle became a sincere laugh once his next sentence came out. "I can't live without it either."


	78. Moving on

In the late night, a familiar ringtone blared inside the quiet apartment. The occupant at first didn't feel bothered with the noisy jingle, but it kept going as if completely endless. Finally, putting little efforts to roam his paw blindly for his phone brought him accepting the call, if not turning off alarm. Who would be so stupid to set an alarm on this time anyway?

"Nick?" a well-known voice chirped out once he pressed the green phone icon.

"Hmm?" the male grumbled as he fought against the sleepiness to open his eyes. Nick brought the phone closer to his face, while the other paw cuddled the pillow closer. To be honest, he was drowsy as hell.

"How are you?" her meek voice conveyed the question softly.

The mere question almost caused Nick to holler in ire, had the person who called happened not to be Judy. Regardless, he couldn't really hate her for waking him this late.

"Yea, I'm doing really good right now…" still with eyes shut, Nick replied with an obvious sign of sarcasm. He could hear her chuckle, and at the same time finally managed to put his eyes open. "Far more better if someone didn't decide to call her friend at…" squinting his eyes on the top right corner of his phone, he tried to make out the number. "2:42 AM, exactly."

"I know," Judy replied with hint of regret in her voice. "Sorry to begin with, but…"

Noticing her trailing off, Nick took the moment to implicitly urge her to speak. "Spit out," the vulpine ordered, although sounded more like a beg since he didn't pull his common authoritative tone. "I don't wake up in blind night for nothing," as the sentence was finished, his jaw opened wide with his feeble attempt to reach for more oxygen in the form of yawn. Rubbing his eyes in slow pattern, Nick waited for whatever Judy had in mind at this quite early morning.

"Sorry."

Nick couldn't hold the chuckle.

"Yea, yea, I'm getting that. So on to the story-" before he could speak more, she cut him short.

"Sorry."

"Huh?" the fox, with utter perplexity, blinked his eyes in sequence with ears twitching rapidly. He tried to recall if last night or yesterday she had done something wrong, but couldn't remember any.

"I'm having _that_ dream again," Judy's sudden explanation cleared the confusion. Like a moment where the thick mist was finally blown away, so did Nick's quizzical look.

"Which one?" the fox inquired further. When she mentioned _that_ dream, it could mean many. Starting from _this_ to _that_ , or something new, or something so old he was forced to press his memory to work better.

"Museum…" Judy's exhausted voice whispered. Nick's eyebrow raised, but not a single comment crossed his mind.

"Do I look cool?" the male cop eventually chose to jest, unaware of her anxiety of the matter.

"Nick," he heard her sternly warned him. In order to give her the space to explain more, he made a zipping motion from the side of his lip to another, a futile attempt since Judy couldn't see it. But at least it killed few seconds that Judy had already begun. "You know I'm not going to let you unaware that for a split of second I did think you as a savage mammal…" while listening on her words, Nick wasn't entirely surprised if her dream was that kind of nightmare. It wasn't her first time, and it was already an old time to begin with. "And I can't bear with it," she ended with a little sob, which subsequently forced Nick to sit straight in alarm.

"Carrots," Nick made sure to make his voice as tender as possible to comfort her. It also wasn't the first time Judy called him this late for a solace, and the vulpine had gotten used to it. "It's just a dream," he softly said and unconsciously smiled.

"I know," far there, he could hear her sighing deeply. That caused him to frown, and his face scrunched when he listened to her next words. "But won't dream happen because once we think of it?"

"Not every of them," Nick spoke with no hesitation. Inhaling shortly, he began to help her _remember_. "Listen. We've gone through this, okay?" the vulpine sat on the edge of his bed, his feet unconsciously moved forth and back, sometimes hitting the wooden surface of the bed. "I dreamt of nasty speech, you dreamt of savagery, and we're still good."

Making sure to give a good space of contemplation, he heaved a sigh and continued. "The thing is…" Nick paused for a moment, thinking for a suitable phrase in the context they were talking. "We've moved on from the past, Fluff. I don't see it as a part of which I need to reprimand you or something 'cause it happens against your will."

That would certainly do something, and Nick patiently wait for her reply. Fortunately, his wait wasn't long but kind of unworthy with only one word spoken in self-questioning tone.

"Still…"

The abundant reluctance hinted her need of consolation, and so Nick hopped from his bed and walked to the closet.

"You need me to come over?" he tilted his head while his phone was stuck between his cheek and shoulder as he rummaged for extra clothing in the cold night. "I'll be there in-"

"No!"

Judy's voice rang incredibly loud like she shouted that refusal with all her might Nick had to cringe and grab the phone far away from his ear. He cancelled the idea to pay a visit and jump back on his bed. The thud should've been audible for the bunny, and her reply correlated with the event. "Don't waste your sleep,"

"But I already did." the fox casually pointed out. He laughed a little, and followed by hers. It sounded restrained, but little was always much better than none at all.

"That's correct," Judy's voice beeped along with her hearty chortles. Knowing that she felt better brought a smirk on his face.

 _Well done Wilde, you did it again._

"Alright. So you forgive me?" she asked in much cheerful tone. The happiness spread to him as well, with his tail started slashing the air randomly.

"Nothing needs to be forgiven anyway," Nick cockily replied. If there were a bet which he could wager all the fortune in this world, he would do so and say that right at this moment his partner was rolling her eyes and smiling like an idiot. The mental image was enough to sent him laughing on his own.

"Now sleep," the vulpine eventually said, leading to the end of the night talk. Before he pressed the red phone icon, Nick briefly thought of something. "And don't forget you're responsible to wake me up today," he left the message loud and clear without saying the reason; Judy would understand. Not being a morning mammal meant that you needed to rely on someone else, especially when you were being forcefully awaken from your sleep like the current situation.

His eyes were too hazy to keep the consciousness stay. Burying his face on the soft bed, he purposely tossed his phone not quite far from him, ready to doze off. The last thing he heard was Judy's line of approval.

"Affirmative, partner."


	79. Moving in

A/N : That freaking moment when you only wanted to write less words but turned out to grow far more in number.

I'll be updating my other story later. If you have yet to know it, check out on my profile!

* * *

"Will you consider moving in?"

"Huh?"

The breakfast began with quiet rustles of protest whenever Judy forgot to bring the cheese and with the additional fact that Nick didn't keep stock of it. The sandwich felt strange without it though they managed to eat without protests anyway. The pair oddly talked less presumably because it was still early morning and mainly the fox's drowsiness still had yet to wear off, and then the proposal happened out of blue.

It couldn't be more awkward.

Now the thought on Judy's mind was changed from the mental reminder to maintain her and Nick's fridge to make sure nothing missed out to actually think with precaution of the request.

Noticing Judy's blank stare on him as well as two of her digits quietly tapping the wooden surface of his table, the signature sign of her thinking of something, Nick instinctively pushed the concern. "You hear me-" his ears twitched along with the sound of his late alarm which began to rang loudly in his bedroom.

 _That could wait_ , the vulpine thought.

"Is that a question I need to answer, or simply a conflicted curiosity?" Judy tapped her cheek whilst her eyes wondered up looking on the pale brown ceiling. She liked to play fool, especially in such case where rightful answer was demanded. Prolonging the nonsense would likely test out patience, but it apparently became a habit for both. In this case, both being oblivious of the matter _and_ pretending to be deaf for the alarms.

"You answering it doesn't mean that you'll have to do exactly the same thing, duh," Nick responded with a huff. The fox too, knew that the bunny wouldn't just simply answer a sudden question thrown to her. He'd just need to keep with her pace otherwise she would just lead the topic somewhere else.

Since he knew this wouldn't go easy, shutting off the annoying alarm would sound better. And so he excused himself with a smile and ran toward his room.

"Reasons for yes?" Judy shouted, trying to make the conversation keep going despite the distance. She would be sure Nick heard it because the alarm had died off. No sooner than that, her partner appeared with cunning smile and phone in his paw.

"Inseparable from me," Nick replied and slowly padded back. The straightforward answer was accompanied with sly smirk, which caused the rabbit to faintly cringe. He laughed and sat back, leaning on the table closer and tenderly knocking the butter knife on her nose. "As simple as that."

Judy responded by wiping her nose with the napkin and threw it straight on his face, covering the confident expression he wore. "Which means we can't make a call, text, but all the times meeting each other's nose?" she concluded with an assumption,

"Is it bad?" Nick asked back after managed to throw away the napkin carelessly from his face. He was rewarded with a glare, in which he threw a playful grin on reflex, and his partner couldn't hold back a smile.

"Depends," the bunny shrugged while still keeping her timid smile. "I can't imagine if we are running through a quarrel and someone has to go out and has no place to go," there was a hint of tremor in her voice, or perhaps Nick was just overthinking.

"Hmm," that hadn't gotten into his point of consideration. The vulpine thoughtfully looked at her, but couldn't disagree with it as he sighed. "It goes to reasons for no then."

"What else?" Judy inquired shortly, as if looking up for a good reason to go along with the request.

"I think your opinion matters more," Nick offhandedly replied.

"Well," the grey bunny quietly nodded and spent a brief second to look around. Her eyes landed on the napkin he had just haphazardly tossed out and chuckled. "I just don't like the idea to handle all your stuffs here," Judy bothered less to catch a glimpse of her partner rolling his eyes due to her attention taken away to push herself from the table and then pad to the door leading to the bedroom. "You see…" the door was pushed open and the hinge produced a weird creaking voice.

To be honest, it wasn't that horrible. Piles of clothes were stuffed on a basket, rather than scattering everywhere. Bed sheet hadn't been tidied up where it should've been done the moment after he woke up. And what she really believed as a bad habit was the way he stacked snacks wrapper under the bed, and couch in the living room. Considering her frequent visit, it became a factor of tolerance she could at least stand with it.

"We can make a schedule," Nick suggested, leaning on the doorsill with arms crossed.

"And there won't be any of your name written on it," Judy shot a playful glare and made a crossing gesture with both of her arms.

"No," the fox smirked, bringing a digit up and wagged it. "It still will, but I won't do it anyway."

"Great," Judy lifted her arms halfway and put it down almost immediately, the body language of giving up on something. "But honestly," she beamed and smiled honestly. That surprised the red fox as he subconsciously stood straight in cue. "Whenever I happen to cross a nightmare like last night," the usually cheery rabbit was now sounded mellow. "I think having you nearby is a good idea," she finished with a subtle grin.

"That sounds romantic," the fox rubbed his chin and mischievously made a suggestive glance on her. She saw it but what she did was only shook her head.

"Interpret as you want," the jubilant bunny shrugged twice. Afterward, she stared back right on his eyes and stated the important matter. "And need I remind you, fox, you only have one bedroom."

"I can sleep on couch," Nick swiftly answered like he had been preparing himself for the answer. But Judy only sighed in response.

"You have spare bed," the rabbit reminded with a deadpann, walked to his closet and opened the third cabinet which located on the lower left corner.

"Oh," as blunt as his oblivion, Nick sheepishly slapped his forehead upon noticing the small rolled-up bed he stored. "Almost forget that old thing."

"So what's the point?" Judy asked calmly and jumped on the bed. She let her face fell on the pillow and waited for her partner's reply with her eyes locked on him. "We're running in circle."

"I only need yes or no," Nick pointed out. That was the fact, for now.

"Alright," Judy quickly rolled and hopped off the bed, now directly facing him although there was still distance between them. "No, for now," she eventually replied with an undeniable certainty.

"I respect your choice, madam," the fox literally made a bow and Judy failed to suppress a giggle. Nick didn't want to miss the chance and offer her his best toothy grin. "Though anytime you change your mind, I will be listening," he brought up his paw with phone in his grip, motioning for any possible further communication and open up the availability of indirect talk if somehow Judy were too timid to discuss the matter.

"We don't want to make us weirder than we already are, right?" the bunny bothered less but still chuckled. She walked past him and dragged him along to finish the breakfast they had left for the sake of nonsense they'd been talking for almost twenty minutes.

"True," Nick couldn't help but laugh and sign no protest being pulled like a kit.

* * *

However, the conversation kept going on.

"One thing I can't never understand though, is how you can feel comfortable on your cramped apartment."

It was at the moment Judy knew, she would just speak in all honesty.

"At least, it doesn't include noisy fox in it."

"Marvelous feature, indeed," and there were joyful laughs traded.

Being honest or not, it definitely could be something wonderful _and_ dreadful at the same time.


	80. Poisonous

A/N : Here comes the prompts, and I'm definitely losing three weeks. Let's make no promise and see how much I can manage.

* * *

Nothing defined a wonderful day else than plucking blueberries _fresh from the oven_. Well, the phrase didn't entirely sound right because it was from Hopps' farm instead.

Not that Nick cared about.

Right now, the said fox had already dashed across the vast field toward the bushes the moment after Judy unlocked the padlock. The rabbit chuckled and still couldn't comprehend how physic quantum would explain that acceleration rose proportionally along with inner desire.

Judy cupped her paw to her mouth as to amplify the magnitude of her voice since they were in an open space and low voice would easily be carried and swept by the wind. "Careful with the thorn!" she shouted and began her pace to follow his track.

"Ouch!" but Nick was already wincing in pain once she caught up with him. The fox crawled backward gingerly, his face radiated, although only in a flash, a sign of annoyance. "Should've warned earlier," he pouted.

The bunny laughed and purposely flipped the basket and wore it as a hat. The sun was merciful, but it was still hot in the mid-afternoon. Nick grinned at her goofy features but mimicked the move with his own basket.

"All the way to get fresh blueberries?" Judy asked with a wink, implicitly mentioning the obstacles they had to breach in order to do so.

"Worth it!" both exclaimed in unison, smiling and chuckling all the way.

Trading another series of chortles, they eventually set down the basket and proceeded to hastily and skillfully collect the fruit. For every pawful of blueberries Nick plucked, there were always some which didn't end up on the basket but somewhere else instead. That ultimately led to Judy's astonishment that even though she felt like they had collected nearly two baskets, it ended up only half of it. She was aware Nick stole most of the times to satisfy his insatiable longing for the juicy fruit, but didn't expect it would be that much. The bunny couldn't really do anything else though. Watching her partner licking his fingers happily brought an unknown wave of pleasure deep inside her.

"There were times," she spoke casually and poked his tail. It danced for a moment and ended up limp. The owner apparently paid more attention to the basket as he snatched another pawful of berries and stuffed them inside his mouth. "When my siblings got stomach cramp because eating too much blueberries," she was expecting him to be surprised, but Nick wasn't even fazed.

"Weren't that because they were still unripe?" Nick replied nonchalantly and fished out handkerchief from his pocket. He had heard that most fruits could be dangerous before they went ripe to most mammals, although some might develop resistance to the substance. The composition didn't count as lethal, but it would be better to be safe than sorry anyway.

"Is that so?" Judy nodded her head. She knew that too, but back in the past the bunny missed out the evidence if the berries Samara ate were unripe. "That might be true as well," she went along with his assumption and grinned. Both involuntarily agreed that the last thing everyone wanted was to get poisoned, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Wait…

"Does addiction count as poison?"

"Perhaps?"

Too bad he wasn't only addicted solely to blueberries.


	81. Tranquil

A/N : I. Hate. It. Why does in every multiple update one of them is always missed out? I mean, hey, I don't understand the mechanics but all I want is for people not to miss out everytime I post a new chapter. Hfff

 **Again,** if you haven't read previous chapter, be sure to do !

* * *

Nick grew up in the metropolitan city. He wasn't familiar with Zootopia's outskirts, especially those which located quite far away. Of course he knew the regions and districts, but he discovered them without looking with his own eyes, only from the stories being told in the bar beneath quiet slurs and drunken revelation, stuffs he listened in the midst of crowds, and what he read on his phone.

The fox often wondered how it would feel to travel there. He was too distracted with the past business to remember the little dream he sought, and even if he did, the vulpine didn't feel like it was a good idea to travel alone.

Fortunately, there was Judy.

Nick failed to hide his agitation and excitement when Judy asked him if he were up to accompany her back to Bunnyburrow for the weekend. On that moment, any form of denials or rejections were momentarily gone from his dictionary. The bunny was honestly glad Nick wouldn't mind going along with her.

* * *

Few meters from the backyard, Hopps family owned a gazebo. The strong structure was built entirely with polished timber. Its surface shone with faint glow, which happened to be the reflection of sunlight. Right behind the gazebo, a small artificial pond surrounded by grey and marble stones added the beauty of the view on its way, in which they were now currently watching its calm surface. The clear azure water gave Nick the urge to jump in and swim there. The fox exchanged a glance on his partner with an expectant look on his face. Knowing his intention, Judy simply shook her head.

Then something caught his attention.

"What's that?" he pointed up to the hill not far from their place. Two massive trees erected and stood close to each other, hundreds of withered leaves scattered around the huge roots. On the space between them, there was something attached on both of its end on the trunk. It looked like combination of net and fabric.

"Oh," Judy swung her ears casually and grinned. "That's our swing bed-"

But Nick was no longer beside him. Her partner had trotted swiftly to the mentioned _facility,_ curiosity took the best of him. The moment he reached, he nimbly jumped and bounced on the net, the swing bed began moving, swinging and shaking. Judy watched with a little worry if it couldn't hold the weight of fox since it usually only served bunnies with average weight. But it appeared that the rope had yet to snap and break off although the vulpine literally was still trashing on it.

Under normal circumstance, and particularly on weekend, this spot wouldn't definitely run out of rabbits. Gerald, Tera, or Hammond, three of her most noisy brothers, usually fought for the swing bed even though they had made and agreed for the shift. That was why it was incredulous for her to see their favorite place remained empty. Maybe because they were having a guest so it was left unoccupied.

Before she could even finish her thought, there was a light snore hummed nearby in steady rhythm. Judy chuckled in mix of astonishment and perplexity on the fact that not long ago he was still wide awake and how the vulpine went asleep faster than she could imagine. The bunny smiled to herself and eventually laid down, enjoying the breeze.

* * *

It was lunch time.

The figure of adult rabbit appeared from the back door as she looked around. Bonnie wouldn't need to look over the entire meadow to find her daughter and her fox friend. Either they were going out or simply visiting farm and backyard. The truck was present when she checked out, so the first option was eliminated.

She strolled on the stone path and hiked following the way. It didn't take much time for Bonnie to reach for the tiny resort. Her eyes ended on the swing bed with familiar orange tail hanging on the side.

"Nicho-"

"Ssh."

A low but quite loud hiss, which surprisingly sounded mildly gentle cut the call from the adult. Bonnie finally noticed that the gazebo presently had an occupant namely her bravest daughter.

"Let him be, mom," Judy merely smiled, and no further explanation needed to take place. The miracle of mother and daughter's bond worked out as Bonnie returned the smile, turned around and walked back to the house. Moment later, she was seen coming back to the gazebo while bringing a tray holding numerous bowls, each stuffed with cookies, cupcakes, sausage roll and many more. The quantity was absurdly abundant for only two of them, but Bonnie said no words and only winked at the younger rabbit.

Once left alone, Judy pondered and picked one of the ginger cookie which shaped like a cute ghost. She was surprised to find herself actually laughing on the hilarious face the cookie formed. Nick would definitely like these snacks when he got up.

For now, she chose to just stay silent and let him get some nap though.

Just like how he enjoyed the pleasant weather, so did her experiencing the odd surge of warmth watching him relaxing like that.


	82. Roasted

"I feel like a grilled meat right now…"

It was certainly not a good idea to travel around Sahara Square within police suit, especially since they were dark in color and absorbed more heat. Furthermore, the air didn't even for the slightest bring any breeze with only dusts, sand particles, and absolute arid air served as the company for the patrol.

Judy couldn't say she hate it, but at least Nick suffered more in her honest opinion. Right now, the said fox was almost disorganized, silently whimpering all the time. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, far from what she could categorize as neat. Black tie had been loosened up and draped on his shoulder, with the top button of his shirt was left unbuttoned. His hat generally had changed its main purpose as now it apparently became something far more better at the moment with Nick frantically fanned himself with it.

"Really?" Judy, with equally growing exasperation yet lesser intention to speak it out, eyed her partner with _I-feel-you_ look. There was a light scowl almost escaped, but the rabbit forced out a smile and decided to pull a joke instead of adding the number of protests. "Should've brought a barbeque sauce…"

It took several seconds for the words to sink in when finally Nick gasped in horror, which unfortunately didn't sound genuine for his partner.

"You're planning to eat a grilled fox?!" he nearly yelled. In public, Nick wouldn't do such stupid thing though. That was why, the astonishment was conveyed in low whisper but with certain intonation.

"No," she responded almost immediately, paws slashing as her guffaws rang on the barren air. "We ought to bring bell peppers and onions as well," Judy chuckled upon mentioning the ingredients of barbeque party they usually bought during the end of the month.

"Oh…" the vulpine trailed off and scratched the side of his face. He knew Judy was going to say no and thought that she intended to crack a joke. Sadly though, it appeared that the fox saw it as a poor attempt and couldn't bring himself to laugh at it so he couldn't really go along with her.

They strolled the street in awkward silence afterward. Judy also realized that the punchline didn't hit the point and brought her mind to think hard for a possible way to fix what had been missing.

And so she went to another route.

"Gotta say something, though…" the bunny brought her paw up and performed a double handgun gesture aimed at him. She then mouthed a _'bang'_ before saying out rather aloud along with a wink. "You're hot."

He remained silent but proudly smirked nonetheless.

At least, it worked.


	83. Spell

A/N : 3 out of 4 ! One left, but October has already passed.

In the meantime, I honestly don't feel like the first time I publish this story, since I can't retain the uniqueness with similar stories begin popping up one another – well, nevermind. I still hold the belief that I do writing for fun, so here we go!

* * *

"It's Judy!"

"Is it?"

"It is!"

Small bicker arose, somehow shamelessly, right in the quiet subway. Rustles of paw snatching stuff one to another, back and forth, followed by trade of murmurs coming from the lowered face and frequent sighs served as moments of transition.

"J-U-D-Y," the slightly infuriated bunny snatched back her ID card and relentlessly pointing on the first line written on the card. The expression didn't come out as anger or ire, but more to the point where the exasperation had climbed almost to its peak. She puffed her cheek and sat with crossed arm, violet eyes glaring on the particular aggravation, which apparently, and ironically in a form of delinquent fox who happened to be her partner. "Come on, it isn't that hard," Judy raised her face a little, in the way to silently ask him to repeat, as her floppy ears softly swayed backward from the motion.

Nick quietly scooted closer, squinting his eyes over the words pointed by the grey-furred paw. No sooner than that, he pushed himself back and leaned on his seat properly, the very irritating smirk adorning his face as he calmly spoke. "C-A-R-R-O-T-S."

"J-U-D-Y!" Judy accidentally replied a bit too loud as few eyes were now directed on them. Lucky for both that they weren't on duty otherwise penalty would await them sooner or later from none other than Bogo. While covering her mouth in reflex of the uncontrolled little outburst, she breathed a low whisper in reprimanding tone and pinched his arm. "Nick!"

"C-A-R-R-O-T-S," the smug fox with immeasurable composure replied casually and even eyed her in the questioning way to measure if he had done something _wrong_. Supposedly, Nick should've brought the quarrel to end once Judy began to reach out on physical abuse, but today he would like it much more. After all, this was a concern she wouldn't elude herself in it, wasn't it?

"Hmm, strange," he snapped his finger twice and glanced up, the common habit of his when he was having that thoughtful moment. That actually saved the vulpine from the icy glare of hers, fortunately. "We have different opinion," Nick faintly grunted but nevertheless offered her a grin.

"I'm starting to think you're having an abnormality," the rabbit blew a breath and rubbed her temple. Normally, she wouldn't bother to be so absorbed with whatever Nick pulled on her, but this time, it felt different.

"This is written Carrots in my eyes," off from her guard, Judy failed to notice that the ID card had magically gone and was already settled back within her partner's grasp. Nick pointed with his left paw, the digit covered the part which showed her photo on the card. "Should I go to the doctor?" he eventually decided that these would suffice for today as he handed back the ID card while forming a made-up sheepish smile.

"About time to ask," Judy rolled her eyes and sighed at the same time. "But…" she was unable to hold back her smile from taking place upon noticing his endearing and genuine smile. Well, annoyance grew exactly as much as how much fondness blossomed, wouldn't it?

In the end, she looked up and threw him back a smile.

"I like you that way."

The term of endearment somehow worked like a magic. It was indeed, a spell of camaraderie.


	84. Chicken

A/N : Did someone miss me?

As much as I hate the fact that Inktober is literally getting outdated, I'll work my way out. As for another note, I did make a decision to focus more on a plot-focused story rather than these short stories. Some of you may have noticed the reason back on previous chapters.

For the story itself, I find it quite troublesome since I have no idea if Zootopians ever eat chicken. So I have to turn the table and think of different approach.

And as a note, this will be the sequel of the next chapter ( if I'm still around, heh )

* * *

For the majority of citizen, seeing two cops with focused and determination glimmering visibly within their eyes who were sprinting not quite far one from another gave the strange rushing adrenaline watching the chase, as if the two were following a culprit and trying to subjugate the criminal. It brought denser agitation once the realization that two of the best cops in the city who happened to be the subjects.

In truth, that was just simply a one-sided escape coming from the half amused and half alarmed fox who was leading few feet away from the pursuer. The prior, because by God, Nick would always feel the undeniable pleasure seeing his partner getting pissed off ; most of the times, during the time her fury building up, the rabbit actually looked cute instead of frightening. The latter, because for every split of seconds Nick had known Judy, never for once she unleashed the wave of pure wrath _inside_ the office forming in a battle-cry-alike, on their police suit, during their work time, where it normally _never_ happened at public.

Maybe he was jumping over the boundary?

Well, at least now he'd better jump over the wall to save his life.

If the logic of his mind worked better than natural instinct to stay alive, he'd cursed both of them and wondered how Bogo would take action on two of what the buffalo could say as his top officers, when they were playing chase like a kit and possibly raising a clamor on public by doing so.

Maybe…

"Keep running away like a chicken, slick!" the particular shout subsequently brought a shivering sensation for the male as he began to realize two facts ; one, she had closed the distance. Two, somehow he had been led to a dead-end alley which he believed was their instinctive step for avoiding open space.

Maybe for now, jumping over the wall would be one hundred times nicer to think out rather than giving heed to the imaginary buffalo butt.

"And what does it have to do with some particular bunny…" despite the condition, Nick chose to taunt her for a moment with a quick heel-turn and playful wink before doing a perfect backflip and landed gracefully on the other side of the wall. "…who can't actually catch up with a chicken?" the fox finished with a grin and spoke louder just to make sure she heard it.

The expression flattened in an instant once two grey ears popped and sooner as Judy in a flash climbed, or _hopped_ , and clung on the edge for a moment, the amethyst eyes burning with what he saw as undying zeal glared with a paw pointing sharp and straight on him. "You!"

"Aww," Nick purposely cooed and prepared to take a swift leave before Judy could land a paw on him. They were now on the other side of the city and due to both the narrow pathway and Nick knowing the terrain way better, it became harder for the bunny to catch up on him. "Faster, Carrots!" the mocking urged Judy to just pull her tranquilizer and shot him right away, but knowing that she would be responsible to drag him back to the office rescinded the idea. And Nick was pretty shrewd to have the clear grasp on the circumstance so he wouldn't hesitate to keep taunting her. "Or should I start calling you a chicken-hunter?"

The remark inevitably caused him to choke breath for desperately trying to hold back a laugh ; somehow, it reminded the fox with that particular online game he had discussed with Finnick way months ago, which currently had its way toward dying out of trending topics.

"That aint' funny, Nick!" Judy cried out between her breath. At one brief glance, Nick spotted one of her paw locked on her hips, ready to withdraw the gun if necessary. "Submit now!" she shouted vehemently, and doubled her pace to try catching up.

"I'll die if I do!" the fugitive cried back and performed a zigzag jog, head swinging down narrowly avoiding an overgrowth branch of tree. With one sharp turn they headed to another small street where both of them saw the mess of what seemed to be an abandoned construction site waiting ahead.

As soon as the dominating yellow and orange terrain came to Judy's view with the earthy smell of sand, she knew that if they kept this up, Nick would definitely escape. And that would be the last thing she wanted for the day.

"Then I have no other choice!"

Nick had prepared the worst scenario and as the warning went out, the fox tactically leaped in random pattern to confuse his pursuer and keep it difficult for his partner to shoot. However instead of a stinging pain and sudden unconsciousness hit him, a long cold steel wrapped around both of his ankles and rendering him immobile as he fell with a thud on the ground. Judy had precisely predicted where he would move and throw the chain. That way, she would keep him conscious and brought his defeat as well.

Nick tried to break free, but to no avail. Judy's throw was excellent to the point that the chain had made a three layer of bond and he could feel the tight grip it caused. Furthermore, the bunny held the end of other chain and on her free will, she could at any time pull him toward her if he made a move to undo the chain. With a look of horror, Nick watched Judy getting closer and closer, the chain in her grasp made the unusual chink sound with each step.

"Alright!" Nick raised his paws in submission, knowing he had no chance to escape anymore. "You win, and I'll do whatever you want," although the fox had submitted, there was definitely something that hadn't died out of Judy's feature. He wondered if that was what people called as murder intention, and the fox involuntarily gulped.

Once the bunny had closed the distance between them, she crouched down and observed the big capture she owned today. Judy was still looking at him, the purple eyes appeared to seek the trace of desperation, or whatever she was hoping to find on his face. With a swift gesture, she stood and brushed her ears back and held back for a moment before laughing on him.

Yes.

 _On_ him, and not _with_ him.

"A humiliation for a humiliation, what a fair trade," the bunny chuckled after several series of laughter and let the chain loosened. While rolling back the chain into a bundle, she also helped him to stand, in which Nick half-heartedly accepted. The fox looked slightly peeved, and so Judy took another approach with another abysmal glare. "And you know what I _want_."

"I do!" Nick almost shouted and swiftly fetched his phone, almost falling back on the backlash of the momentum. He cared less and began typing numerous taps hurriedly as if his life depended on the minuscule task he was doing now. The vulpine frantically looked back and forth from his phone to Judy's triumphant curl of smirk, part of him wanted to just wipe out that expression off her face but he knew he wasn't on the place to protest. "Now stop looking at me like that," he sighed and showed the current screen on his gadget, assuring her that he had done what she wanted. "Geez, you look like a devil," he managed to stifle a chuckle and brought up an awkward smile while dusting off his uniform.

"So which one?" Judy casually replied. The tone she used was noticeably bright, a safe way to say that the bunny might have forgiven him.

"Huh?" Nick tilted his face in questioning way.

"Am I a rabbit, or a chicken, or a chicken hunter, or a devil?" the bunny purposely winked and held up the chain high, letting her partner choose which one she would suit more.

"Darn, what a question," Nick slapped his forehead and let his paw ran across his ears and let it drooped. With a heaved breath, he slowly replied. "You're Judy Hopps."

That caused both of them to laugh, this time together.

"That's the answer, clever fox."

Now that the adrenaline wore off and things had settled, there was only one thing left to handle.

"Now we really need to think how to live out this day…"


	85. Drooling

"Ouch!"

Something hit the bridge of his nose, and Nick rubbed the sore spot tenderly. The unexpected assault had him waking up from the dreamland he had been enjoying. Within the darkness, the vulpine gingerly sat up and examined his surrounding for a while, looking for the stuff that had hit his face. It appeared that strong wind had gusted in and knocked the empty water bottle on the drawer and caused it to fall.

Rubbing his eyes with the back of his paw, Nick crawled to the window and noticed that both of them had forgotten to lock the window, as well as the curtain which was still open. He recalled that they were too tired to care and even Nick agreed to sleep over because he bothered less to travel farther to his own apartment. That explained why the wind could go in and how on earth the room was quite cold. He sighed and proceeded to stand and was about to work his way to shut it when he heard a quiet shifting on the bed.

From his place he stood now, he could make out the figure of curled grey bunny on the bed with the help of faint ray of moonlight which shone through the room. Judy was sleeping soundly, hugging the oversized pillow tightly and the half lower part of her body was covered with the blanket. Nick took the liberty to fix it, but stopped upon realizing something on her face.

 _"T_ _his would be golden…"_ the vulpine thought as he smirked devilishly and searched for his phone.

* * *

"Fluff!"

Judy had just put down her book and on her way out of the bullpen when the particular fox greeted her on the door with unsurprisingly jubilant feature, a trait which at first belonged only to her but slowly seeped deep inside her partner.

"Hey Nick!" with equal mirth, Judy waved back and smiled at him. "When did you leave?" she gave a light tap on his shoulder and asked, referring to his early departure from her apartment hours ago. Nick didn't usually wake up earlier than her, so that was almost questionable at the best.

"Can't remember," the fox airily replied as they walked together. Something had been nagging in his mind since the morning, and it worked out on most part of him that he failed to conceal the excitement. The spoiling grin on his face showed the unbearable amount of joy, causing Judy to unconsciously mimic the expression as well. "Anyway, I wanna show you something," Nick suddenly said and glanced at her, his ears perked up and swayed lightly at the motion.

"Yes?" the bunny gave him the space for his show-off. Apparently, Judy noticed that there could be a possibility that Nick encountered something crucial this morning that had something to do with his unusual spark of joy _in the morning_. It also confirmed her theory that when her partner got absolutely too happy, then there was something going on, not that she hadn't known it before though.

"No leaps, no barks, no shouting and no _chasing,_ " the fox spoke with even more suspicious tone and pulled out a digit with every instance he wouldn't want to deal afterward.

"Okay?" Judy narrowed her eyes at that. Now it sounded as if she would definitely do so. Unaware of what he truly wanted to show, she decided to go along with the flow although the majority part of her brain sensed odd things was about to uncover.

And it was.

From her inspection of his mischievous grin and the way he brought of his phone, Judy had a mental note not to either regret it or _make him_ regret it. But the moment she shifted her gaze to the screen, that was it.

"NICK!" as soon as the bunny shouted, Nick retracted his arm as well as his own well-being by scooting back few feet away from her, momentarily stunned from the unexpected outburst to the point that the vulpine thought that the conditions he stated at first were treated as if they never took place. "DELETE THAT!" Judy tried to reach out for his phone but Nick was at the same time retreating away from her.

"You promised!" Nick protested and held his phone protectively with both of his paws and brought it the farthest he could do from the possible threat of his gadget.

"WILDE, I WARN YOU WITH ALL MY MIGHT ; DELETE. THAT."

Nick cringed on the last name, and realized this could escalate to another silent treatment or even _worse_ , especially since he had never encountered her furious-mode in the ZPD's office. From their distance, the fox could clearly see that Judy was literally pissed off. That was his goal, formerly, because he liked to see her that way. But it was out of expectation to face her full of fury like this one. Knowing that nothing would ease her anger other than doing what she deemed, Nick chose to give up. "Alright alright!" he proceeded to erase the photo from his gallery and showed it to her. "See?"

Judy snatched the phone to make sure that Nick had done it right, and not deleting other photo and showing her the deleted image screen to deceive her. After fully certain, the rabbit handed the phone back and exhaled aloud. "Great," she offered a deadly smile on the fox, causing Nick to feel shiver running down his spine. "Let's just forget that it ever exists," fortunately Judy's mood was still able to swing back to normal with her actually threw him another smile, this time an appreciation one, and dragged him to start their day. Nick would have to think twice if Judy turned out to hold a grudge against that photo and it caused him to go on patrol with fuming bunny.

Of course the renowned clever Wilde wouldn't just throw away such valuable treasure that easy. Nick had previously stored the image in his cloud, so safe to say he still had the blackmail. He was unsure whether to also delete that or not, considering Judy's reaction when she recognized the photo. But for now, she had yet to know that it still _existed_ , so the vulpine decided to take it slow.

Too bad he had completely forgotten that using his main account meant that anything he stored would be updated in ZPD's database, a system built up to prevent collusion and nepotism inside the branch. And too bad, the one and only Clawhauser was the mammal in charge of controlling and monitoring the members' storage server.

Just as the duo strolled toward the exit to begin their daily patrol, and right when he held the glass door open for his partner, the cheetah gasped and quickly chirped out, the magnitude of his voice made it audible even from the other side of the door, where Judy had just left.

"Wonderful capture indeed, Wilde!"

Nick froze.


	86. (Spc) Exhausted

A/N : Long time no see, and Happy New Year!

In celebrating belated Christmas and New Year moment, as well as reaching almost 20k views, please have another special chapter! It took me long enough to finish this one ( I changed the plot about 4-5 times ) and I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it.

As for another note, I decided to wipe out the Ink-number on the chapter's title, since it's really irrelevant considering we have reached a brand new year. And anyway, this chapter has something to do with Chapter 33, so I suggest you to check it up in case you haven't yet.

Last but not the least, thank you for everyone especially Omnitrix12 and Cimar for the feedbacks and ( of course ) patience.

 _Edit : I noticed this may have ton of mistakes, so help me to point some, maybe?_

* * *

It was quite unusual to see Nick to be so quiet and what Judy could put as _lazy_. Sure, the fox even on normal occasion wasn't as jubilant and energetic as she was, or loudmouth and talking weathers and astrological beliefs frequently, but today he seemed so…

… weary, maybe?

That being said, the vulpine was now resting his face on the table, one paw supporting it while the other busily stirring the half-emptied glass and his eyes blankly staring at the ice cubes which swirled along with the motion. Judy might be exaggerating, but it gave the strange assumption that currently, Nick was dead but moving.

"Are you okay?" Judy eventually decided to ask. There could be something happened last night, or anytime between yesterday and this afternoon and technically it was also her responsibility as his partner to help him so she needed to know.

With one eyes closed and face slumped on the desk, Nick grouchily replied. "I don't know," his voice sounded like a radio running out of battery, barely audible even for a rabbit. The fox didn't even move to look at her. "I felt unusually tired…" the fox mumbled and inhaled deeply. The sight worried the bunny of her partner's health.

"You should take a rest," Judy moved across the table and brought her chair along and sat beside him, gently patting his shoulder.

"No," Nick gingerly shrugged the paw off and sighed. "It's not merely a physical exhaustion…"

Now that he mentioned it, Judy began to wonder. She could understand if Nick felt tired of dealing with nothing and only mundane and boring patrols every day, because their recent weeks met with no crimes. But there was something more behind it ; perhaps something that put his spirit down?

If there were something nagging in his mind, she was pretty sure Nick would spit out and tell her everything. Considering the circumstance, the bunny believed it definitely wasn't her mistake but rather, the fox was having one with himself. What he said before led to a tentative conclusion that mental exhaustion took part in whatever he was dealing with.

"What do you want to do?" the bunny questioned. In order to find out, she ought to collect information, or _symptoms,_ or anything. Hence, it felt like she was slowly becoming a doctor, or when putting it in her profession, an interrogator. Pushing out the funny thoughts, Judy focused on the task in paw and patiently wait for Nick's answer, as the said fox took his time to think and the paw held the straw had stopped stirring.

"I don't know…?" when Nick finally replied, the uncertainty was clear, as well as the vague hint of disinterest in his reply. It took no longer for the bunny to realize that Nick might have been dealing with the low-motivation state that happened once in a blue moon, and the presumption grew stronger with his next line. "I feel like I just want to sleep and loaf around…"

"Can you walk?" Judy suddenly asked, her mind had worked out to figure out how to bring Nick out of the loop of troublesome things and self-worthiness questioning. "I think a fresh lemonade will wake you up," the bunny held both her thumbs up, an encouraging gesture as she delivered the statement that was generally too obvious where it would end up.

"And?" Nick surprisingly replied quickly, causing Judy to grin and softly tap his sleeve twice. There was a reason most ZPD's officers said that they had a linked-mind, or what Fangmeyer called as _telepathy_.

 _"Any stupid ones would have seen it coming_ ," Nick mused. He'd bet whatever left in his wallet that Judy would ask him to go somewhere, anywhere or anyhow it didn't matter, but ultimately the point was to move his butt off and stretch his muscle when all he wanted to do was nothing.

"Why don't you be a gentlemammal and get them for us," Judy smiled and even snickered when she saw that _I-knew-it_ face on Nick's, complete with the face slap and dumb-dumb look afterward. "Three blocks to the left," she brought her paw and showed the way, which Nick cared less and not even bothered to let his eyes follow the motion, already noting in his mind that it was the street behind him.

"You're asking an exhausted mammal to walk?" Nick grumbled the protest but knew well that he was in no place to object the request and would do so anyway.

Besides, it possibly could _help_ with the struggle he was facing now ; either helping it better, or worse. The vulpine involuntarily believed in himself that the latter would take a better chance to happen, but at the same time also appreciating Judy's assistance to clear the problem.

But darn all the god and goddess, he really didn't want to leave, let alone stand and even walk.

And then there was the disapproval look and a shook of head.

"Should I carry you?"

"No, thanks."

With another deep sigh, Nick stood with firm support of his paws on the table and head off to the direction the bunny had pointed while making an 'OK' sign on his back as to assure Judy he was doing okay, at least for now.

Either way, Judy might be right. Perhaps a little exercise wouldn't hurt anyone.

* * *

The stroll did not take long time as Nick caught sight of a relatively tiny booth with colored paper decorations and the writing clearly made of crayons. It stood in front of an white-dominated old-looking mansion. The view could somehow be considered as funny when one compared the size of the booth and the mansion behind it. The mansion itself had a considerably primitive-looking wooden fence, painted in matching white, and nailed altogether in exact distance from one another. At this point, Nick noticed that the booth was taking place in a line with the fence, as if utilizing spot where the fence had missing parts to build the stand and by doing so, it didn't violate the law for merchant to sell goods on sidewalk.

Whoever came up with it was definitely clever and creative at the best way.

Apparently it took Nick's interest as he slowly approached the colorful booth and examined the booth carefully. The vulpine was about to bring out his phone to take a picture when he heard a shout coming from the vast building.

"In a minute!"

The shrill and quite high-pitched voice didn't sound like an adult, Nick mentally noted. Despite the distance, he could make out the distinct cry and it kinda sounded familiar. Maybe the perk of having a rabbit as a partner coincidentally affected his hearing ability?

Nonsense.

As the figure slowly approached, Nick quickly recognized the mammal in charge of the booth. Even before the vulpine could smile and wave, the sprinting seller had already done first.

"Officer Wilde!"

It was none other than Sol, the little arctic fox Nick and Judy met during their patrol months ago. The noticeable snowy furs swayed during the sprint, something Nick envied from the little fox. Back in the past, he often daydreamed and imagined how gorgeous he would look when his furs were all white.

"Oh hi there, bud," Nick dismissed the thought and waved back while also responding to Sol's offer of high-five once the arctic fox came within the range.

"Remember me?" Sol, with eyes so bright and tails dancing around, asked as he pointed to himself.

"Of course," Nick offered a friendly smile and began initiating a casual talk between them. "How are you?"

The moment he asked it, something wore off from the little fox. It was natural for a kit not being able to mask sudden change of emotion, and on the current circumstance, it couldn't be more obvious when Sol lowered his face as well as his ears.

"Uhh," the little fox seemingly had an internal conflict, and what clueless Nick could do was only watch, which caused him to feel uneasy. "I'm fine!" eventually Sol regained the bubbly and exultant composure, although this time Nick could clearly see from his eyes that there was something wrong. Pushing the matter wouldn't definitely generate a positive outcome, so the older fox only responded with a gentle pat on the kit's head.

"Glad to hear that," Nick offered a smile and let his eyes roam over the booth. That explained why the booth was so colorful and kid-friendly when the owner itself was a kit.

It was then when another question roused ; why would he bother to build the booth and sell lemonades when judging from a quick glance on the mansion one could say that this little fox was presumably wallowing in fortune? Did it have something with the abrupt change of expression before?

Worrying that such premature judgment would cause harm when being let out, Nick decided to keep his mouth shut. After all, anyone had the right to do what they wanted, especially in Zootopia. The thought concurrently came up with the mental image of his first meeting with Judy and how she naively brought up the line, causing the fox to snicker in advance. What caused the snicker turned into a laugh was when Nick became aware that Sol actually watched his stupid expression and the little fox grinned goofily in return.

"What are you doing here anyway, Officer Wilde?" Sol asked as he prepared the utensils and bought the pitcher out of mini-fridge hidden under the booth. Nick watched carefully as the kit brought out the lemons and skillfully began to extract the juice and mix the ingredients with certain amount.

Although the red vulpine was never fond dealing with kits, he definitely had gone through the youth and not just suddenly grew adult. Knowing a thing that would raise youngster's excitement, of course Sol included, Nick figured out that taking the moment to have a little fun would be nicer than just paying for the drink and left.

"I'm on patrol," the taller fox purposely winked at the smaller one and looked around suspiciously before bending over the booth as he motioned Sol to come closer with one of his paw, which the latter did. Nick made another series of examining surrounding and proceeded to quietly whisper right to the white fox's ears while covering it with the back of his paw. "Have you seen any suspicious movement lately?"

Upon seeing Sol's bright eyes, Nick couldn't help but chuckle.

"No Sir!" Sol replied with deeper voice and shook his head vigorously and did a salute afterward, which elicit another chuckle from the adult. "But I'll report it to you when I capture something suspicious," the arctic fox spoke in quick sequence, to the point that Nick almost didn't get what he was saying.

"Capture?" the older fox at least caught the prominent point on the statement, but was uncertain whether he heard it right or not. As to confirm his uncertainty, Nick put on a quizzical face toward the smaller fox, slightly tilting his head.

"Of course, Officer Wilde," Sol apparently noticed the adult's questioning look as he unlocked the small drawer under the booth and picked up an old-looking analog camera. "I always keep this so that I won't miss out any particular event happened," the little fox explained and as for a proof to show it was still working, Sol pressed the button and a blitz of flash blinded Nick's eyes briefly, forcing him to cover his eyes with his paws.

"That's brilliant, bud," Nick said with cheering tone and patted Sol's shoulder twice, a grin forming on his facade. "I believe you can be a great police officer," the red vulpine took off his cap and put it on the kit. It was clearly oversized with the cap almost covered all of the arctic fox's face and blocked his vision, but the whole exchange was quite cute nonetheless.

"That's my dream, Officer Wilde!" Sol replied with much more excitement while fixing the cap carefully. Once it sat steady right on his head, he spoke full of confidence while aiming his paw on the cop. "I aim to be just like you, a fox cop!"

"Hey, don't aim that low," Nick snickered, snapping his finger at the same time. Realizing that his words were unclear, Nick cleared his throat and clarified. "I mean, you can be far more better than me, you know."

"I don't really care, though," Sol shrugged offhandedly as goofy grin planted on his face. "But I want to protect Zootopia and all mammals here, so that they won't suffer from bad guys!"

The kit was so vibrant and high-spirited in declaring the benevolence dream that he accidentally knocked the fork on the main desk of the booth few feet away. The sound of the metallic cutlery hitting the ground knocked some sense on both that they'd been so caught up in the conversation that Nick had forgotten the main reason he was there and Sol eventually recalled the task in paw he ought to be dealing right now.

"I'm supposed to make lemonade…" the smaller fox quietly said and strolled to get back the fork. From the body language of his tail, which currently was shaking up and down repeatedly, Nick could say he was embarrassed.

"I don't mind with a little chit-chat though," Nick calmly assured him when the arctic fox went back to the booth. He then proceeded to look around and found a chair reserved for the customer and realized his feet ached a little for actually crouching too much while having the talk. "How much is it?" the adult vulpine asked as he took a seat and watched the procedure of making lemonade.

"I'll treat you!" Sol exclaimed, and clearly by the tone that he was insisting and Nick persisting to pay likely wouldn't work. "And do you bring Officer Hopps too?" he asked as the little paws of his swiftly worked on the pitcher, both eyes still focused on it.

"She's on the car," Nick thumbed behind him, motioning the cruiser which was out of sight and on the different neighborhood. Sol apparently followed the motion but didn't see any hint of their cruiser and Nick couldn't hold a laugh on his naivety ; childhood was sometimes annoying, but sometimes amusing.

"Then please take two," Sol brought out two cups and began to pour the liquid into them.

"Thank you, Sol," Nick smiled. He would need to think of how to at least pay for them in other form of currency, and believed soon he would sort it out.

After finishing Nick's order, Sol put the plastic cups and carefully placed them within a plastic bag. But instead of handing them to Nick, the arctic fox didn't move. Nick had already rose from his seat and was expecting to take the drinks but it seemed like Sol possibly had something in his mind to discuss-

"Do you have free time, Officer Wilde?" Sol suddenly asked, just in time when Nick had the thought with the adult grinned in _I-knew-it_ way but the expression melted and changed into pure horror upon hearing Sol's next line. "I have so many questions for you!"

"Umm," Nick feigned the act of thinking, when all his mind screamed was blatant refusal. Youth was naturally filled with endless curiosity and it could end up into thousand questions if Nick agreed. Still, deep inside his mind he believed that maybe going into a lair of dangers once in a while wouldn't be that bad ( neither did over-thinking ), and so with a newfound resolve Nick nodded and went to sit back on the chair. "Well, we can listen to them first and decide-"

"Yaay!"

And before the barrage of seemingly eternal interrogatories began, Nick heaved a sigh upon recalling how much he used to hate kits.

* * *

They spent almost an hour talking about the cop's daily life, noting few glimpses in the past, or upcoming plans for the later years. In exchange, Nick invited the kit to discuss about the business he initiated, the dream he yearned for, and how to strive through the bitter reality in order to achieve it. Apparently, Sol had quite a vast garden behind his house and that was where he collected the fruits and his mother had taught him the basic of making lemonades. Apart from it, each time either of them mentioned parents, there was a drastic change on Sol's countenance that compelled Nick to quickly switch the subject.

While doing so, Sol kept their discussion's main point on sheet of papers, as if someone having an interview or interrogation by scribbling lines after lines of words on them. Nick watched in amusement and eventually found the way to repay the kindness.

"You know," the officer broke out the brief silence between them when Sol was carefully checking the note he had written, with the younger fox's attention quickly shifted to him. "It'll be much better if you keep it here," Nick produced a small, brown-colored notepad and handed it to him. The cover was entirely made from synthetic skin, making it look quite expensive. To ensure the notepad wouldn't get messed, it also came with a strap with magnet on the surface.

"That looks cool!" Sol received it carefully as he unlatched the strap and opened few pages inside. Only about ten pages were filled, while the rest remained blank.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing when Carrots bought it for me," recalling the memory allowed Nick to smirk at the vivid image of Judy handing it to him, wrapped in leftover paper wrap they bought for Thanksgiving, and how the bunny beamed with pleasure when Nick unwrapped it right after she gave it. "Though, I'm not really a diligent one to keep track a neat writing so…" he went to mischievously snatch the notepad back, earning a confused look from the kit. Nick grinned and did a little ceremony in order to properly hand out the property to a new belonging by clapping his paws and then holding the notepad with open paw. "I believe you'll make it a good use instead of me," the adult pushed his paw closer to the arctic fox, who blinked his eyes in utter bewilderment.

"You're giving this… to me?" Sol obviously looked aghast, and frantically switched his gaze between him and the notepad.

"Why not?" Nick winked and eventually pushed the notepad to his chest, insisting for the smaller fox to accept it. "Just think it as a part of encouragement for your dream," once Sol took it, Nick chuckled and went to his full height to admire the scene of a dreamy-looking kit accepting an unexpected gift, how the arctic fox brushed his paw on the notepad tenderly and how happy he looked.

"Thank you Officer Wilde!" Sol ran around the booth and hugged the bigger fox's feet, considering his height. Moved consciously by his heart, Nick crouched and returned the friendly hug, as both laughed. Once the embrace ended, Sol jumped a little and looked like he just remembered something. "But it's not really nice to leave you empty-handed, so wait a minute please!" before Nick could even interject, the kit had completely gone from his vision. Scratching the back of his head, even Nick at his childhood wasn't really as spirited as Sol.

Just as quick as he left, so did when he went back. All of sudden, Sol was already standing beside him, paws stretched up and something rested on them.

"Here," the arctic fox even went to tiptoe so that Nick wouldn't be troubled to accept the gift he offered.

It was a toy gun, a water gun to be precise. Sol seemed to have a great fondness at the toy with his name being written with a permanent red marker on the green surface of the gun. There was still water left inside, meaning that Sol might have used it previously.

"Don't you need this?" Nick asked carefully as he picked up the gun. "I mean, I have one already," the red vulpine tilted his face, motioning to the tranquilizer he brought along, which safely resided on the side of his belt.

"Don't worry, I can keep myself safe," Sol replied jubilantly, and even cheered up more and grinned when Nick tried to take aim with the gun.

"Understood," the red vulpine nodded and grinned back. "I'll make sure to keep this," as he safely stored the water gun in his pocket, his phone rang. Without even looking at the screen, Nick knew right away it was his partner, because he set a different ringtone for her alone. Aware that Judy might be worrying of him, Nick chuckled and decided it was time to go back.

"I have to go for now," while sliding the phone back to his other pocket, Nick smiled and brought his paw to give a last tender pat on the smaller fox's forehead. "Thanks a lot, Sol."

"I should be the one who thanks you, Officer Wilde," Sol smiled brightly, the notepad still within his paw and being held tight. "If you have free time, please pay a visit!" he handed the cop the lemonades which he had just added the ice cubes, intentionally being done at the very last moment to avoid the ice being melted and lessened the taste of the lemonade itself.

"I will," Nick thumbed up and bid a goodbye before walking away.

As he left the booth, Nick shortly glanced over his shoulder and saw Sol still looking on him, just as the kit said how much he looked up on him. The thought warmed his heart somehow, as the vulpine involuntarily smiled to himself and walked back to the cruiser with lighter steps.

Judy was leaning on the vehicle when the cruiser came within his vision. She looked a little worried, but once learnt that Nick did meet Sol by seeing the label on the lemonade cups, the bunny's face lit up as she trotted to him.

"How is he?" Judy asked. Looking on her partner's countenance, it seemed that everything was going well.

"Doing fine," Nick shortly replied, the smile on his face had yet to disappear. He picked one cup and gave it to her. "For you."

"Thanks," she accepted her share, hopped to the vehicle and placed the cup carefully on the multi-purpose holder slot at the dashboard after taking a few sip. "Remember him?" the rabbit asked as they prepared to leave the place ; seatbelt, which Nick rarely did was now being done.

"How can I not?" the fox chuckled softly, though the grudge of Judy leaving him alone to deal with the kit was rather unpleasant to recall. He purposely directed a glare to the bunny as to remind her of what she had done in the past. Judy noticed the sharp emerald eyes locked on her and only responded with a casual wave of paw.

"Yeah, the one that lost in the supermarket..." upon replying, Judy's voice sounded like fading away. She definitely had something more to say, but the bunny was obviously dealing with doubts and uncertainty. Her amethyst eyes reflected those negative feeling, which Nick was fully aware by looking at them. Given the circumstance, a choice that Nick could give the best try was to encourage her to spill out, so he called out calmly.

"Speak?"

Judy unconsciously tightened her grip on the wheel when she heard the request. At first, she was reluctant to reveal the truth but Nick was not stupid to be aware that there was something wrong with Sol when he met him before, so there was no escape at all.

"His parents passed away a month ago on an accident," Judy finally spoke, slow and emotionless.

As someone who rarely experienced shock, Nick jerked lightly in response, while unable to perform any other mechanism to react on the information. The reason Sol reacted negative once they talked about parents was more painful to accept for the older fox. He did recall sometimes ago there was a car crash accident, where the guilty one trespassed the traffic light and ran through another car crossing the road. As the investigation took place, the suspect was positive on alcohol during the drive.

Nick couldn't help but pity him. Not all mammals were durable, both physically and mentally, in term of having to face such terrible fate in their young age, especially when both of their parents were gone in an instant. The vulpine did lose his parents both, but not at the same time. That must have been too much to bear, and to think that Sol still could smile even after that, the arctic fox certainly had strong and incredible will to keep living.

"Now he's living on his own and I've been taking care of him for a while," Judy let herself inhale deep breath and looked sideway. To her disbelief, Nick was staring at her, looking disappointed. Was he mad at her because she didn't tell him the story sooner?

Having the main concern now which was to correct the misunderstanding, the bunny crossed her arm and shook her head. "Of course I didn't tell you, because you said that you never liked to deal with children, didn't you?"

She was right. He had no right to feel angry, let alone being left out. Nick knew Judy had hundred siblings and certainly she could deal with the young ones. Tagging him along would cause severe disaster rather than peaceful atmosphere, but the vulpine believed at least Judy could have told him.

Now that he thought of it, Sol was no one for him until they met today. Judy wouldn't see why she needed to tell him before, Nick himself would possibly dismiss the matter, and therefore no one was guilty.

Noticing that Nick's facade had softened, Judy decided to keep going. "If I were him, I would be so depressed," the bunny continued the story as she grabbed her lemonade, stirring the ice cubes with the straw. Two days straight on weekend, Judy paid frequent visits to the noticeable massive mansion. Although the place was great, she could feel the emptiness filling every space in the mansion. Sol did cry his heart out for almost two days full, but Judy tried her best to help him to the point that she went to call her parents for assistance. In the end, her mother and two of her sisters took care of him and stayed for another two days, and Judy reluctantly had to focus on her work because she couldn't just leave without reasoning, especially for Nick himself.

Well, she might be keeping something away from him, but it was for everyone's good, supposedly.

Surprisingly, the next time Judy visited, Sol greeted her with warm cookies and lemonades. There were still damp fur on his cheeks and crimson streak in his eyes, but that day, he laughed. "He admits that he feels sad, but that doesn't stop him for acting so bright and cheery later on," Judy smiled at satisfaction everytime she remembered the moment; feeling great because the kit could overcome the seemingly endless mourning. "You know why?"

Nick listened every of her words carefully, letting the life story of someone he didn't really know before seeping deep inside, more than just a moral lesson; it was something more that he could not define.

Realizing the space was provided for him to respond, the fox raised his eyebrow, evidently wanting the answer. With another sigh, Judy smiled and moved her paw to point at him.

"Because he has a dream, and he wants to pursue the dream no matter what."

The moment Judy said it, Nick instantly remembered the kit's standout declaration before.

 _'I aim to be just like you, a fox cop!'_

 _'But I want to protect Zootopia and all mammals here, so that they won't suffer from bad guys!'_

During his childhood, Nick was always being taught by his mom that getting drunk was worse than being a thief, and as an adult now he understood completely why she said so. What harm drunken mammals could inflict ranged from nothing to indirectly take away the most precious persons of a kit. Sol withstood the depression and clutched the agony to make him stronger instead, and as the kit didn't want others experience the pain he went through, he dreamt to be just like him, a police officer, to at least prevent such accidents to happen again in the future.

And here was him, having too much patrol and feeling tired of it...

"I hope you don't hate me for making you deal with a kit," the train of thoughts diminished completely when Judy's way of apology went audible to his sense of hearing.

"I'm not," Nick exhaled rather aloud, and as he glanced sideway right on her amethyst eyes, the vulpine grimaced a little but forced a smile took over the expression. "You know, he reminds me of my old self," closing his eyes, the fox went back to sit straight and eyes staring into emptiness of the street. "And beside, I should feel grateful to you," he continued with a loud sigh and gave a brief space of silence, allowing Judy to express her perplexity.

"Huh?"

"Because that shows me another reason not to get down," Nick spoke, barren in emotion, with a blank stare through the windshield, as if talking to himself ; as if telling no one in particular. But right after that, he shifted his gaze to his partner with his signature charming grin, an expression that would always ensure Judy that Nick was doing okay. "Even if we feel tired or have enough of these stupid patrol routine," he faked a grunt and drank his lemonade with a satisfied smile. "Mmm, this is great!"

Judy returned the motion with honest smile. "That's good to hear."

The bunny began to start the engine and was about to step on the pedal when Nick spoke in pure curiosity. "So you planned this?"

"Actually, no," Judy retracted her feet and replied quickly. She had to admit, she did think that it could be a little help but it wasn't planned as it was just crossed her mind suddenly. "I only remember when Sol said that he wanted to be like you, so I think that'll help you overcome the-"

"Yes, it does," the vulpine cut her before she could finish with a soft tap on her arm. "Thanks, Carrots."

"Anytime, Nick," Judy brushed the paw off and smiled at him. They shared another smile and went back to respective thought. "It's normal anyway, to feel unreasonably tired," the rabbit sighed. She herself had experienced what Nick had just gone through, when all she wanted to do was to become part of the search team in the missing mammal case but instead being given the mundane task of parking duty.

"Uh huh," Nick hummed his agreement and stole a glance on his partner. Within his vision, she looked like spaced away, apparently lost in thought.

"Just remember that it's not only Sol," Judy surprisingly spoke all of sudden in mellow voice. Too bad Nick had seen through of what was going to follow right after, with the fox playfully stared right on her, expecting for the punch line to come along. "I'll always be there for you," she finished with a blink of eye and two paws being put into _bang_ gesture and aimed at the vulpine.

"Ouch, that's romantic…" Nick smirked and when Judy looked at him, the expression grew with more mockeries with the vulpine rolled his eyes and avoided to meet her eyes.

"Quit it, you slick," the bunny pushed him forcefully until his back banged on the door with the fox lightly winced. Taking the moment for a payback, she smirked. "Unless you're getting tired of me?" the once renowned queen of drama put on her skill of feigning expression, disappointment and gloom fully masked her countenance as well as in every pinch of her words.

"Are you kidding me, Carrots?" rubbing his back involuntarily by an act of reflex from the previous assault and went up to his neck as an unconscious response of Judy's excellent _theater show_ , Nick grinned and the grin slowly turned into another mischievous smirk. "I won't ever get enough of you," as to affirm his statement, his tail even waved and danced at her, taking place instead of his paw and it was actually hilarious.

"Now you sound romantic as well," it was Judy's turn to smirk and wink at her partner, to which both of them laughed.

"Don't push it, though," Nick said offhandedly, and Judy only hummed her agreement.

There was an awkward silence by the time the topic wore off. Nick intended to bring out his phone to check the time and suggested to go back to the main office, but went to the wrong pocket and apparently his paw clutched on something.

"Speaking of which…" remembering the present he had been gifted by the kit, Nick fished it out and handed it to the bunny. "Sol gave me this."

Judy, looking a bit confused, flipped the toy on her paw and inspected it carefully. "A water gun?"

"Yeah," Nick leaned on the seat and slumped a bit lower so that he could watch the navy sky and cotton clouds. From his odd position, the fox glanced to the bunny and tilted his face a little. "He really is a nice kit, isn't he?"

"Well," Judy didn't think that Nick would look that stupid, but quite cute at the same time. She made a mental note to ask him for his kindergarten's album.

Between the short pause, she encountered some memories in the past which happened to pass by, then looked on her paw to make sure the gun was still there, and resulted an idea. "Do you still want to take a rest?" Judy asked, might be a bit too cheerful to rise a suspicion but fortunately Nick didn't pay her much attention to notice. "You know, a quick nap, maybe?" the mischievous rabbit suggested as she stopped the engine, undid her seatbelt and retracted the key back.

"Not anymore," Nick casually shrugged and fished his sunglass, preparing for another city tour they were going to go through and crawled on his back to sit back properly. Before he put the aviator on use, he raised his eyebrow on her and threw a question. "And what's the point of you asking it?"

"This will come handy," Judy blinked an eye as she firmly held up the gun, shaking it softly to ensure it was loaded, which happened to be so as the sound of water splashing inside the chamber could be heard. "So when you're asleep, I can wake you up…" before Nick could figure out what she was intending to do, Judy was way faster to aim at the fox and pull the trigger. "Like this!"

"Gah!" shaking the water off from his face, Nick faintly growled as he tried to snatch the toy back. "I'm supposed to be the one who hold it!"

"We can share!" Judy kept the gun as far as she could from the fox, pushing him with her feet and raising her arm which held the gun away.

"No, it's mine," the fox smirked and began another assault in his quest to retrieve the weapon, using both of his arms to reach on the gun.

The space was limited, with two adults fighting like a kits on the front seat of a cruiser. But fortunately the street was light and no one was there, so they wouldn't bother with it. They did realize they were having childish wrestle, but there was no going back.

"Not gonna happen," the bunny smirked and switched from going to defense into offense by utilizing the gun and directing few shots to the vulpine.

From the windshield, it seemed like their quarrel would suit much better on younger form. But there was no limit of ages, if it came to how fun could come up…

… at least with a certain degree of shame level.


	87. Star

The sun had completely vanished from the horizon when Nick and Judy left the main office. Streetlights illuminated the dark night, with the additional light coming from the lighting on each storefront. Sidewalks weren't as crowded as they usually were - or it had to do with their delayed exit, with the two couldn't recall, or couldn't really pull themselves to care of the time at the moment.

All they wanted was food and sleep.

As idealistic as someone could be, only cold foods left on the closest store. Considering that neither had yet to restock for the month and the possibility to come across another store which was still open at the time, Judy paid for the food and was rewarded with free mineral drink from the owner as a token of appreciation being the last customer. Since it meant the store was about to be closed, Nick and Judy didn't have much choice but to either save the hunger until they reached home or find somewhere nice to eat.

Judy eventually suggested to go to South Park, since it was just few meter ahead. Nick, who still held an undying grudge on the stupid overtime and now facing himself another problem, which was hunger, chose to go along with her as long as they got to eat as soon as possible.

The rabbit led the way to an empty seat close to the central fountain, with bushes of decorative plants surrounding it. In the morning and mid-afternoon especially on the weekend, this place would definitely be occupied and no seats would remain empty. This time, they could hardly find a seat which was occupied, a completely opposite of the occasion.

They spent the moment to eat in silent, munching some loaf of breads with cold lettuce, chunk of cherry tomatoes and a little cheese. The amount seemingly couldn't suffice to fill their empty stomach, so both had to share the portion wisely.

"I know this isn't fancy dinner, but…" Judy began. Nick stopped his mid-nibbling of his sandwich, stealing a glance on the bunny beside him. She appeared to stare at her half-eaten portion with a delicate smile on her face.

"Something's wrong with it?" the vulpine didn't seem to care much, as his mind was now completely bound to satisfy the hunger before it transformed into something worse he wouldn't want to imagine.

"No," the barely audible reply from the bunny compelled Nick to look at her again. This time their eyes met, in which the vulpine rose his eyebrow and went back to devour whatever left for him. "It's just…" Judy unconsciously started to swing her feet in a harmony while lifting her stare up to the sky; sadly, it was cloudy.

At first, she wanted to say how grateful she was to have him right now. Dealing with the work all the time, even for someone as spirited as her, could be tiring. Spending a little moment like this one, had her feeling happy and glad. Although they had been used to visiting each other at late night, or having dinner outside, it occurred to her that this was the first time they shared dinner on open place at night. Usually, they would go to this place at weekend's morning, bringing picnic set along and having fun while also together making simple breakfast like what they had now. Turned out doing it at night offered a whole new sensation, when her nerves screamed for rest and got the night breeze and nice company in return.

Judy couldn't find a way to make it less cliché, so she simply dismissed the thought and nudged her partner softly while getting a bite on her share. "Forget it."

"You're getting weird," with a snort, Nick rolled his eyes and took another bite on his light dinner, while still mentally cursing whoever responsible to put them on a very irrational extra work before. "And I don't play riddles on dinner, so shake it off," he added strongly, causing the other mammal to laugh. With the last big munch, it put any remaining of Nick's food completely gone.

Judy blinked her eyes and awkwardly scratched the side of her face watching the fox, unable to express her bewilderment properly. "Look at you and your appetite," she managed to say and split her remaining sandwich, offering another share for him.

"Shut up," Nick scoffed and smacked her back with his tail, earning a giggle from the rabbit, as he accepted the share. Not a moment later, the fox chuckled. No matter how bad his mood was, taking part in a conversation, especially with Judy, could somehow fix it.

"Too bad it's a cloudy night…" Judy's mumble perked his ears.

"What?" Nick, who had finished his dinner, smirked at her. "You wanna see stars and moon and meteors coming down to earth?" the smirk grew even more annoying, and as the result of it and his corny joke the fox got two knock on his head. "Ouch!"

"The last one is unnecessary," Judy went to sit back, crossing her arm but apparently couldn't hide her smile. With a shook of her head, the bunny sighed and looked up to the sky. "But don't you think it's more enjoyable that way?"

The amethyst eyes were filled with yearning and longing, and it made her looked so pitiful.

"In that case…" Nick rose from the seat and strolled to the deeper part of the park. When he noticed that Judy wasn't following him, the vulpine sighed and went back to her only to latch his paw on hers, forcefully dragging her along.

Judy frowned at the crude move, but decided to let Nick be.

They arrived in an obscured spot, with more bushes of wild grasses that grew almost as tall as the rabbit. To add the creepiness, the only source of light was Nick's phone; the only lighting on the place happened to be broken.

The light moved right and left, as if her partner was looking for something. Sometimes later, Nick turned off the light but still held a grip on her arm to ensure she was still there. With the place's lack of light, Judy could barely see anything, unlike her partner who was gifted with night vision.

Nick understood what Judy was thinking, and did not want to waste much time. He gently brushed her shoulder and whispered.

"Just sit."

Judy did so, and listened to the rustles and noises. It was so quiet there when they first arrived, and now although she had no idea what Nick was planning, the place slowly became lively with weird sounds and…

… was that a spark of light?

A dot of yellow light flew out from the bushes, and more of the dots followed. With the dim light's guide, Judy could faintly see Nick there, shaking every inch of the grasses. She watched how the pitch black place slowly became illuminated by the numerous tiny sparks of light.

Fireflies.

"Whoa…"

There seemed to be more than hundreds of them when Nick finally went back and laid on the grassy ground, gasping for breath. She assumed those were a whole colony, and Nick kinda purposely forced them to go out from their lair in order for the magnificent view to be born right before her eyes now.

Some of the fireflies stick together, forming a big dot of light. Some remained alone, creating much more smaller tiny spark, almost looked like a star in the sky.

She could say, he made the sky and the stars for her.

"There you go, Carrots."

They shared a look, smiled to each other before enjoying the view as long as they could, until the fireflies decided to go home and so did them.

* * *

The old adage saying defined that stars were lovely, yet out of reach. But down to the earth, there was something that shone interestingly and also reachable, dazzling so bright and sparkling with delight.

Ones spoke to the community that those were fireflies. But another ones implied the phrase metaphorically, hence led to the another belief that those were good companies.


	88. Precious

Knock, knock, knock.

Silence.

"Home or work?"

Knock, knock, knock.

…

"So which one is more important?"

"Hmm."

If only repeatedly knocking the pencil on her head would make her thousand time smarter to answer this particular question, Judy would have done it earlier. Then again, having more intelligence in this case didn't really help at all.

She had taken a short break from work to pay a visit to her hometown. Of course the bunny initially invited Nick to come along since her partner did say he had no plan on the weekend, but the fox refused the offer and let her go alone while mouthing something that she could barely catch as _doomsday_.

Well, there was always surprise whenever Judy went home. This time, one of her younger sibling challenged her with a sheet of paper filled with mostly yes-or-no questions and few multiple choice questions, just exactly when she arrived at home and put down her backpack. If she couldn't finish it in 20 minutes, she had to take the shift for that day to pick blueberries. If she could, the condition turned around, as simple as that.

At first, Judy thought that wouldn't hurt to try, with the losing condition was actually on her gain; no one could blame her for plucking the entire farm nor bringing few boxes later when she returned to Zootopia. The mental image of Nick's dreamy eyes upon seeing her with the fruits almost made her purposely failing the challenge, but she wouldn't be Judy Hopps to do such thing so the rabbit cracked her knuckle to the challenge.

There were basic daily life questions, coming up in a pack of study case of doing good deeds aside from personal gain, taking responsibilities and not running away from them, discipline, time management, and more personal opinion-based questions. Judy spent the first ten minutes splendidly, almost filling all of them; she left some tough questions that needed thorough decisive thinking to deal later.

Two minutes left, and here she was, stuck on the last one.

 _You can only pick one. Choose wisely_

 _A._ _Home_

 _B. Work_

"Do you really need to think that hard?" Daisy's sudden question broke her from the series of inner self-questioning. Her little sister who was responsible for the odd challenge stared at her, looking confused after checking the remaining unanswered question. For the young rabbit, it must be very surprising to find out that her older sister apparently struggled to just encircle one of the answer. However, for a grown up like Judy herself, such question meant a lot and had to be taken seriously.

Being a cop was her long-life dream. She could still perfectly remember every moment spent in the training ground, how others looked down on her and she proved that a rabbit could withstand the immense trial and eventually graduated as a valedictorian. The struggle didn't just end right there; instead, more awaited her in the real workplace where she still had to deal with the ridiculous preconception. And then she met Nick, they got along, they parted away, and then reunited later on and together blasted off a train and also a conspiracy built up by Bellwether along with it.

It was tough, but at the same time, it was also fun.

As a police officer, she had vowed and made and oath to protect Zootopia and every continent, if necessary, from any harm and would do her best to make the world a better place. That was what she wanted since her childhood, and what she was doing now. ZPD had eventually become a second place she could call home, where the bunny met awesome and interesting colleagues and more importantly, the one she reached out to become her partner.

Judy loved her job, but that didn't entirely mean she didn't miss her hometown. She was a child of Bonnie and Stu Hopps, one of hundreds, Bunnyburrow as her home full of fluffies, warm cookies and family love. While she believed her parents trusted her that she could manage her life, Judy wasn't such aloof to easily let go of the feeling being surrounded by her whole family. A cry at a corner, another at the dining room, or tiny quarrels to get the last piece of cake, or even during the harvest time of their farm were hard to miss. Sure she couldn't say she liked to continue her parents' business, but that wasn't a reason to hate home.

In the end, she couldn't decide.

"I'd rather let you ask politic or economy," Judy answered with a humorous grin. No one in her family ever liked either of them, and that was supposedly enough to let her little sister understand her preference.

"Does that mean home is not important anymore?" the younger rabbit asked with her ears drooped, her voice sounded a bit disappointed.

"No," Judy put her pencil down and glanced at the timer and chuckled; she wouldn't be able to finish it anyway. Blueberries aside, she still had the task to clear the thing. "Both are precious and I'm pretty lost here to pick a choice," the grey bunny patted her sister's head as she watched the ears slowly perked up.

"That still doesn't answer the question," Daisy spoke with cheerful tone. Maybe it finally occured to her that Judy was going to lose the challenge and that was enough for her to regain confidence.

And yes, the timer rang no sooner than that.

"Alright, I give up," Judy shrugged and handed back the paper, smiling all the way. Daisy grinned and pointed the unanswered one, a timid way to remind the older bunny about the punishment, and Judy replied with a feigned tired sigh while complaining to herself. "Seriously, can't we have both?"

"You have both, Judy," Bonnie chimed in from the door with portable mixer and a large bowl on each paw. Both Judy and Daisy didn't notice that their mother was observing her little girls' talk. Before Judy could say anything, Bonnie had left but spoke right after that, her familiar voice rang through the hall. "You will always do."

As for the finishing touch to make it a happy ending, Judy smiled and brought up her balled fist, offering a fist bump to her little sister, which Daisy responded with a terse laugh and balled fist as well.

* * *

There might come time when she must decide between the two so at least she could count this as a little preparation toward the unknown moment, sooner or later.

But for now, Judy knew she had both.


	89. Beat and Bang!

A/N : It's been a long time !

As always a slice of my story at the beginning ; I'm currently losing my way in almost _everything_ , so I believe it's not a really bad idea to go back to where I have once started.

Just telling, I'm not continuing Inktober prompts. And for a starter, let me think something short.

* * *

Some said music brought you to a whole new world ; set earphones, and let the world rock and roll!

At some point, it could literally cause a complete loss of common sense as you began to pay no attention to the real world and drift to nodding and snapping your fingers to the rhythm instead.

Apparently, that could escalate to a worse case with what was happening now.

Judy had spent some time, definitely not a short one, trying hard to reduce the amount of papers on her table by working on it one by one. On her way through, she heard tiny rustles and sneaky whispers numerous times, to which she paid no mind on it, hoping to finish her work soon. She was about to curse the job for having an unbelievably tons amount of stupid paperwork but was forced to stop her trail of mind with a loud bang coming from the other side of her cubicle.

Rolling her eyes, the grey bunny began to skim through the papers and typing on her computer.

And then the bang happened again several times, though she figured out it sounded as if following a certain melody.

The bullpen was fortunately in short of mammals, because it was break time. There were only her and one particular mammal she knew quite well who wouldn't leave the room until she did.

Trying to ignore the banging, Judy sighed and took another file.

 _Bang, bang bang bang._

"Nick…" Judy calmly called out, marker still on paw and eyes remained on the table. She knew what he was listening and had she not been focused, she would also follow the rhythm by tapping her feet. But right now, such noise only flicked her temper.

 _Bang bang bang bang._

"Nick," the bunny stopped, slammed her marker on the table and hopped off her seat. She walked to the desk across her own and found her partner closing his eyes and banging the table with the beat of his earphone provided.

That was it.

"Nick!" Judy let loose a strained cry, not too loud to be heard from outside but enough to pierce through the song the fox was listening.

Nick eventually opened his eyes, revealing a set of emerald irises sparkling with courage and ardor of warrior, something the music must have done to him.

"Oh, so you finally noticed," the drummer-wannabe unplugged his earphone and threw her a cheeky grin without any sign of guilt, or she could oppositely say with _every_ sign of ignorance. Before she could snap at him, Nick raised a digit and shook his head.

"You've been ignoring me for an hour, you know," the fox cautioned with a serious look. As a partner who had been close to each other, Judy knew that was his way to justify himself and implying the reason, which she believed was quite true ; the bunny had been too absorbed with her work for almost two hours straight.

Taking another deep sigh, Judy crossed her arm and frowned. "So you're saying I can decide whether I should ignore you _or_ those load of paperwork?" the bunny motioned at her desk and unconsciously tapped her feet impatiently, the last few words were being said, or _spat_ , with one hundred percent distaste.

"Can't really say," Nick shrugged. Knowing that he needed to fix things out, the fox rose and gently pushed her back to her cubicle. "How about going to karaoke tonight?" he spoke casually, an offer he had to improvise where his initial plan was to bring her for a movie and quick dinner.

Judy sat back on her seat and leaned cozily, looking up to where Nick was looking down at her; he was behind her, clinging on her seat, waiting patiently for her answer.

"Count me in then," Judy smiled. Relinquishing all her heart content out didn't exactly sound terrible.

It might be her voice that sounded terrible though.

Nick somehow laughed and pushed the seat, allowing Judy to get back to work. He understood that she wanted to stay here for a while and the fox decided to grab lunch for them instead of going out together as always. Before leaving, he put his music pod on her desk and tenderly set the earphone on her.

"Here," Nick whispered quietly and gave a quick tap on her shoulder. "Have a beat."

It wasn't really bad, Judy thought. Music made everything felt better.


End file.
